Name: Caron Butler
Profession: 13 Year NBA Veteran
Age: 35
One word that describes you: Grateful
Caron Butler grew up as a troubled youth in Racine, Wisconsin. By the age of 11, Butler was hanging out with a tough crowd and began dealing drugs which landed him in jail nearly 15 times before his 15th birthday. After spending over a year in jail Butler became committed to turning his life around. He found a good job at a local Burger King and got serious about pursuing his dreams of playing basketball. With a renewed enthusiasm and hunger for success, Butler moved to Maine to attend Maine Central Institute. During his years there, Butler polished his game and earned a scholarship to play for Coach Jim Calhoun at the legendary Big East powerhouse, the University of Connecticut. After a standout freshman season, Butler helped lead the United States to a gold medal in the 2001 FIBA World Championships then returned to UConn his sophomore year to lead the team to an outright Big East Championship in 2002. Coming off an extraordinary season, Butler declared for the 2002 NBA Draft following his sophomore season and was selected tenth overall by the Miami Heat. Throughout Butler’s 13-year NBA career he has become known for his tenacious style of play, winning attitude and reliability as a player and teammate.
Open-minded and approachable, Butler truly feels blessed to be where he is at. “I just love life,” Butler tells BE Modern Man. “No matter who you are, or what your financial status is I love meeting people and try to inspire all those I come in contact with.”
Heading down the wrong path as a young boy, Butler’s love for his family provided him the strength to push through his troubled start. “My main inspiration was my family,” says Butler. “My book Tuff Juice: My Journey From the Streets to the NBA which releases on October 7, 2015 details the adversities we went through as a family.” Wanting to see his family make it, Butler used basketball to turn all of his wrongs, right.
Now with a family of his own, Butler prides himself on being a great husband, father and son. Incarceration took the most important relationships away from him early on in his life. “It goes back to my being incarcerated,” Butler tells BE Modern Man. “I appreciated those relationships even more when I got out and I found my niche in the world.”
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