Miami Heat forward Jimmy Butler is doing what he’s been doing for over a decade in the NBA. Providing a potent all-around game (21.3 ppg, 6 rpg , 5.6 apg) to go along with hard-nosed defense, energy and veteran leadership, for a team that went to the NBA Finals two seasons ago and currently sits atop the Eastern Conference at 47-25.
On the court, Butler is a hothead at times, but off the court he’s been all smiles as he proves to be quite the businessman who enjoys a good cup of joe.
Butler’s Big Face Coffee is the official coffee for tennis players at the Miami Open, happening now through April 3 at Hard Rock Stadium.
Miami Heat star Jimmy Butler makes his signature oatmeal latte for ’20 US Open Champion Emma Raducanu using his Big Face Coffee, which is the official coffee for tennis players at the Miami Open. (Courtesy Miami Open)
On Tuesday Jimmy was on-site in the players café serving up fresh coffee drinks to elite tennis players such as Madison Keys and Francis Tiafoe. Jimmy even taught 2020 U.S. Open Champion Emma Raducanu how to make an oat milk latte using his Big Face Coffee. Raducanu reportedly gave Butler’s instruction a 9 out of 10 in the art of coffee brewing.
“I’m so happy to be at the Miami Open! It was so fun learning how to make a latte with Jimmy and I know he’s a huge tennis fan and is going to catch some matches,” Raducanu told People magazine.
BIG FACE COFFEE
As the story goes, Butler, 32, first came up with the concept of Big Face Coffee, during the Heat’s improbable championship run in the NBA bubble in the 2019-20 pandemic season.
“I’m excited to be here at the Miami Open this week,” Butler also told People. “Our Big Face Coffee brand is here all tournament and just getting the chance to watch some of the best players like Emma compete is what it’s all about.”
So first it was a pop-up NBA bubble coffee shop, with Butler selling $20 cups out of his Disney World hotel room. According to people, “Butler… made fresh brews from his own French press out of necessity because he couldn’t find anything to his liking.”
In October of 2021, he introduced his specialty coffee to the consumer market.
(Courtesy Miami Open)
‘The reasoning behind [the name Big Face Coffee] was when we first got into the Bubble during the pandemic, I remember opening up our per diem and it was like $2,080 in there. Basically 20 $100 bills and four $20 bills,” Butler recalls.
Never one to be cheated on the court or on an opportunity to increase his net worth, Butler came up with a scheme that was influenced by his entrepreneurial spirit, a street hustler’s mentality and his ability to draw on the creative wizardry of a Dr. J or Dominique Wilkins when brewing some coffee.
“So I’m thinking, OK, if I charge $20 for a cup, all I got to do is get somebody for a good cup of coffee,” Butler said. “You’re going to run out of $20 and they’re going to come back with these $100 bills, aka big faces,” he explains of his brand’s name, which started as an inside joke. “Whenever they hand me the hundred, I’m going to be like, ‘Whoops, sorry. I don’t have change. Thank you for paying a hundred dollars for a cup of coffee.’ Never really worked that way, but the idea was genius.”
(Courtesy Miami Open)
Butler is hands on with his coffee business, same as his defensive approach, but he represents the new NBA player. The days of wild parties and endless champagne is over. The age of the renaissance coffee connoisseur is here, and Jimmy B seems all for it.
