James Caron Butler was born in 1980 in Racine, Wisconsin where he grew up in a rough neighborhood and found himself arrested 15 times before the age of 15. With the help of his mother he enrolled in the Maine Central Institute, in Pittsfield, Maine and sharpened his skills as a power forward on the MCI Huskies team. Through his hard work at MCI and with his mom's support, he was awarded a scholarship to the University of Connecticut under Coach Jim Calhoun in 2000.

Under Coach Jim Calhoun, Butler lost 15 pounds and developed his perimeter game. After his sophomore season he decided to enter the 2002 NBA Draft where he was a lottery pick, selected as the 10th overall pick to the Miami Heat.

Another person who inspires Caron is his grandmother Margaret Butler, a mother of seven children, grandmother to 29, and great-grandmother to seven. Affectionately called “Granny,” Caron remembers the time in his life when she stepped in and comforted him as his parents were going through a divorce. She is the one person that he can always share his thoughts with. It helps that these special conversations seems to take always take place over a home cooked meal. Granny still resides in Racine, WI and enjoys attending Caron’s games in Milwaukee and coming to visit him in Washington whenever she can.

Personal:

• Full Name: James Caron Butler
• Married to: Andrea Pink with 3 children
• Daughters: Mia Caron & Camary; Son: Caron Jr. Caron and Andrea share one daughter, Mia Caron
• Person He Most Admires: His mother, Mattie Paden for raising him as a single mother
  

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Read About Caron's NBA Career »