Wizards' Jared Butler achieves NBA dream despite loss vs. 76ers

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The Washington Wizards lost in a heartbreaker to the Philadelphia 76ers on Wednesday, but one player in particular saw years of hard work pay off. Two-way guard Jared Butler scored a career-high 26 points (11-of-19 FG, 3-3 3Pt) with four rebounds and seven assists across 20 minutes, just four days after playing in the G League.

The 24-year-old opened up about how much the moment meant to him, via Wizards PR.

“It feels great. Honestly, a lot of hard work, a lot of patience,” Butler said. “A lot of patience. Sometimes an opportunity isn’t the best opportunity, the most glamorous opportunity. But like I said earlier, don’t get bitter, get better. Stay patient and make the most of it.”

Butler has bounced between the NBA and G League since getting drafted in 2021. After selecting the Baylor alum 40th overall, the New Orleans Pelicans traded him to the Utah Jazz, where he played 42 games before getting waived on Oct. 15, 2022. He then signed with the Grand Rapids Gold (Denver Nuggets affiliate) on Nov. 4 before signing a two-way contract with the Oklahoma City Thunder on March 3, 2023.

Butler then played six games on their NBA squad before signing another two-way deal with the Wizards on July 28. The former NCAA champion averaged 6.3 points on 48.8% shooting in 14.1 minutes across 40 games and was thus rewarded with a multi-year contract on March 5, 2024. However, he was waived on October 19 before signing yet another two-way contract with Washington.

Since then, Butler has spent time with both the Wizards and their G League affiliate Capital City Go-Go. The 2021 consensus first-team All-American has played in 26 NBA games this season, but it’ll be hard for Washington to send him back down after Wednesday night’s outburst.

Butler admitted that his performance in the 109-103 loss was gratifying, but he’s not satisfied with one good game.

“A little bit, for sure. But we got another game in a day or so,” the Louisiana native said. “My goal is to be good for 1,000 days, 3,000 days. So it’s just one day.”

Jared Butler proves his worth on Wizards

To say that Butler earned his opportunity against Philadelphia is an understatement. In addition to his long-winded journey since getting drafted, the 6-foot-3, 193-pounder has had almost no rest the past few days. He scored 19 points for the Go-Go at Washington’s Entertainment and Sports Arena on Saturday afternoon, not even 24 hours after playing one minute against the Pelicans New Orleans on Friday night, which the Wizards lost 132-120.

Butler then scored 17 points (6-of-12 FG, 1-of-2 3Pt) with four rebounds and five assists across 20 minutes in Washington’s 110-98 home loss to the Pelicans on Sunday night before scoring 14 points (5-of-11 FG, 2-of-4 3Pt) with five assists, one block, and one steal across 22 minutes in the Wizards’ 135-112 loss to the Houston Rockets on Tuesday.

That all led up to the journeyman’s history-making night on Wednesday. Butler is the first bench player in NBA history to record 26 points, seven assists, and four rebounds in 20 minutes or less, via Stathead.

Even though Butler had a difficult road, he remained confident that he could make his mark at the NBA level.

Butler after playing in the G League on Saturday:

"The goal is definitely to carve out a role with the Wizards…I can score, playmake, whatever the team needs."

Turns out he wasn't lying. #Wizardspic.twitter.com/Bys3VcAKtP

— Joshua Valdez (@joshvaldez100) January 9, 2025

"The goal is definitely to carve out a role with the Wizards," he assured after Saturday’s Go-Go game. "A lot of it is a numbers game and opportunity. In the meantime, just trying to get better as a basketball player."

"I can set guys up, I can set the table for guys to get their shots, and I’m also a guy that can get in the paint at will," Butler continued. "That’s either to score or to playmake and get guys easy shots…Whatever the team needs at the moment is what I focus on."

With Jordan Poole, Kyle Kuzma, Bilal Coulibaly, and Malcolm Brogdon all banged up recently, Butler got an expanded role and didn’t look back. Between him and fellow two-way player Justin Champagnie, who’s started 13 NBA games this year, Washington knows how to develop unheralded talent.

Butler’s next chance to shine will come Friday night against the Chicago Bulls (17-20) at the United Center.

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