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.

Caron's NBA Career:

As a rookie with the Heat, Caron averaged a stellar 15 points and five rebounds per game. During his second season, he averaged nine points and four rebounds in 68 games, in spite of having an injury plagued season. In 2004, Caron and the Heat made it to the conference semi-finals, falling one game short of beating the Pacers. In 2004, Caron was traded along with Lamar Odom and Brian Grant to the Los Angeles Lakers in exchange for Shaquille O'Neal.

In 2005, he was traded to the Washington Wizards and secured a five year contract with the team. In D.C., he joined Gilbert Arenas and Antawn Jamison as part of Washington’s "Big 3”.

Caron was nicknamed "Tough Juice" by Coach Eddie Jordan for his aggressive and passionate play. This persona was epitomized by Butler’s 20 rebounds in Game 6 of the 2005 Eastern Conference Playoffs against the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Caron is known for his face-up line drive jumper, as well as his athleticism and ability to finish around the rim. Currently, Butler is in the midst of his best season as a professional, with career-high averages of 21 points, eight rebounds, and four assists per game (as of January 28, 2008.)

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