Jimmy Butler seems like he can be an exhausting teammate. This isn’t any sort of commentary on his stints in Chicago, Minnesota, or Philadelphia — it’s merely a comment over the fact that waking up long before the sun comes up is just awful.
Butler made headlines on the day of the first training camp practice with his new team, the Miami Heat, because he woke up at 3:30 in the morning to get some work in prior to practice starting at 10 a.m. That is, if I may editorialize, way too early, but it also apparently lit a fire under one of his teammates, as Meyers Leonard decided he had to one-up Butler.
Leonard is probably asleep as of this writing, as he put on Twitter that his alarm went off awfully early so he could roll out of bed and get some extra work in. He also made it a point to stress that this was because he thought Butler set a “new standard” that he believed it was important to match.
I can confirm. I can also confirm this was my status this morning. The thought of being outworked was not one I enjoyed. Jimmy is setting a new standard and I love it. https://t.co/kdGlmPzpbf pic.twitter.com/2QcAltGewX
— Meyers Leonard (@MeyersLeonard) October 3, 2019
For clarity, this has nothing to do with me. This has everything to do with a work ethic that I respect from our leader and I’m here for the challenge. Also S/O to Bam, he was there too.
— Meyers Leonard (@MeyersLeonard) October 3, 2019
Leonard went on to say that he got up at 3:10 in the morning, made some coffee, and eventually got to work.
Meyers Leonard on his Jimmy Butler motivation: "When I catch wind that you're in your cute, little dream and I'm working out at 3:30, that doesn't sit well with me. So that alarm went off at 3:10 this morning. I went down and got a cup of Joe, and I was ready to go."
— Ira Winderman (@IraHeatBeat) October 3, 2019
I want to be 100 percent clear about something: It’s admirable that Leonard saw a bar get set and decided that he needed to try to jump over it, because he is a competitor, and that is what competitors do when they’re challenged. Having said that, sleep is extremely important, so while we appreciate that players like Butler and Leonard are working really hard, please rest up, guys.
