Jimmy Butler’s coffee habit was still more of a Bubble quirk than legitimate business when Sports Illustrated got up with him after his first trip to the NBA Finals in 2020. Butler has since started selling his own beans (as well as apparel) under the Big Face Coffee label.
What began as a strategy to take advantage of Butler’s captive (and rich) clients has evolved into one of his numerous off-court pursuits. Butler also put up a Big Face pop-up at the Miami Open in mid-March, with Butler personally behind the bar churning up lattes for VIPs and tournament participants.
Butler also put up a Big Face pop-up at the Miami Open in mid-March, with Butler personally behind the bar churning up lattes for VIPs and tournament participants.
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(This time, the costs were a little more reasonable, with drinks starting at roughly $8 and a complete flight costing $20.) Butler spoke with SI ahead of the tournament on the state of his obsessions.
“I’ve probably been a fan of tennis for about three years now,” Butler tells SI about why he selected the Miami Open for his latest coffee venture. Butler has guided the Heat to first place in the East despite some ups and downs.
“Right now, I’m just in my own happy universe because I get to be around tennis and coffee in one place.”
In the NBA bubble, Jimmy Butler is charging players an absurdly high amount for coffee
Jimmy Butler’s day job appears to be securing the fifth seed in the Eastern Conference and bringing the Miami Heat to the playoffs. He’s making $32.7 million this season and is attempting to make ends meet by charging players in the NBA Bubble $20 per cup of coffee.
His firm has benefited from a lack of decent coffee and the constrained nature of the bubble. Jimmy Butler sat down with ESPN’s Rachel Nichols after a tight game against the Oklahoma City Thunder to discuss the Chris Paul fight, the Indiana Pacers’ history of rivalry, and his hustle on the bubble.
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Jimmy Butler is selling coffee at unreasonably high prices, abusing players’ caffeine addictions, as if averaging 19.9 points, 6 assists, and 6.7 rebounds per game isn’t enough.
“Coffee is impossible to come by here.” So I’m thinking about raising the price to $30 per cup. It all depends. People in this town can afford it. So no one’s complaining.”
Because the players can afford it, Butler intends to raise the price to $30 a cup because $20 wasn’t enough. He brought a French press coffee maker and a chalkboard to show the menu to the bubble.
Butler’s Miami Heat teammate Meyers Leonard tweeted a photo of the board in Jimmy’s room, which had the same pricing for all sizes, to indicate Butler wasn’t joking about the costs. Jimmy may be a skilled coffee maker, but as his coffee business grows in the bubble, he will require funding.