Davis’ new home was renovated and upgraded by acclaimed designer Lonni Paul over two years.

She designs interiors for celebrities and billionaires like Robert Downey Jr. and Bill Rancic.

The house, mansion, or estate rises like a crown on a promontory above the undulating hills, where two Southern California valleys meet to begin their golden ascent.

To get there requires effort. Even if your nаme is on his list, a clipboard-wielding sentry will give you the fish eye. Next, you wind through a maze of palm-tree-lined cul-de-sacs with luxurious residences and Porsches, Jags, and Shelbys that sleep in the desert sun. You reach a 40-acre property with a guesthouse, horse barn, corral, and baseball diamond after a final climb, intermittently interrupted by rattlesnakes. The nine-bedroom, 14-bath, 13,000-square-foot house has vaulted 30-foot ceilings and an infinity pool in a lush sanctuary.

On a languid September day, you’ll see a figure sleeping on a chaise near the pool, enjoying the Pacific breezes. His Kid ‘n Play meets Bart Simpson fade creates a corrugated silhouette in the sunlight. A nugget-sized diamond blinks from his left ear.

Jimmy Butler wakes up yawning and stretching. At 6-foot-7, he walks into the large mansion in a posh neighborhood outside San Diego. The 26-year-old Chicago Bulls player rented it in the off-season for himself and his longtime friends Jermaine and Ifeanyi, whom he calls “my brothers.”

You sаy, “Nice place,” the only icebreaker as you follow him into the living area.

Butler nods and laughs. “Explain it.”

Just then, Jermaine floats into the 30-foot quartz-and-stainless steel kitchen. Soon, Ifeanyi enters, supposedly to forage. “Don’t no one buy groceries here?” Butler mock-yells over his shoulder.

Jermaine raises hands. “What? Just went.”

The most efficient supermarket navigator debate lasts five minutes. Butler: “Two hours? All you got? “You hear of traffic?”

So it goes. Butler and his roommates won’t sneak around with tea and raised pinkies, no matter how luxurious the accommodations are. “We have fun in our own way,” Butler says. “We still do everything we did as kids. What makes us laugh.”

They’ve made an indoor putting green from a red plastic cup duct-taped to the carpet. Spongy hellfire can fall on your head at any time. Butler said they buy $1,500 worth of Nerf weapons at Wal-Mart. “We have wars.” A too-casual walk past Eden outside will likely result in a shove into the pool—“and believe me,” says Butler, “nobody cares if you have your cell phone.”

Then, sly as a Cheshire, he smiles his million-dollar grin—$95 million, to be accurate, given the five-year contract he signed in July, a deal that clearly marked his arrival as the franchise’s new face, or at least the shared face with the often-hobbled Derrick Rose.

Davis’ new home was renovated and upgraded by acclaimed designer Lonni Paul over two years.

She designs interiors for celebrities and billionaires like Robert Downey Jr. and Bill Rancic.

A year changes things. Butler was a $2-million-a-year, average role player who could score a dozen points and play solid defense entering his fourth season with the Bulls. Last year, while Rose, the previous league MVP with the star-crossed knees, missed 31 games, Butler scored 20 points a game, nearly double his career average, while playing lockdown defense on the other teams’ best players night after night. He grabbed rebounds, made game-winning baskets, and raced the floor for 40 minutes a night—more than any other player on the team—while playing with a passion and fire that made Bulls fans love “Jimmy Buckets,” as he’s known for his hоt shooting streaks. Midseason, he was All-Star. He became the first Bull to win the NBA’s Most Improved Player award after leading the Bulls to the playoffs. Some pundits suggested he be named league MVP.

“We knew we had a [talent],” says Bulls VP of basketball operations John Paxson, a key force in Jordan-era championship runs. “But to think he would become the player he advanced to last year? No one in this building saw that coming.”

Even Butler was surprised. “Һell, it came out of nowhere for me, too,” he admits. I won’t sаy I knew I’d average 20 points a game in the world’s greatest league. I was clueless. Not since high school had I averaged 20 points per game. I played ball to aid the squad. Now when I look at it, wow.”

He signed that big contract, hung out with Taylor Swift and Mark Wahlberg, walked the ESPY Awards red carpet in a polka-dot-lapel suit and black high-tops, and enjoyed San Diego. According to his publicist, Ashley Smith Becker, “It’s good to be Jimmy Butler.”

Davis’ new home was renovated and upgraded by acclaimed designer Lonni Paul over two years.

She designs interiors for celebrities and billionaires like Robert Downey Jr. and Bill Rancic.

Life looks good from the mountain. Butler doesn’t spend all day putting into plastic cups or having Nerf wars. Dude worked in San Diego.

Pardon him for getting some z’s poolside. He was up at 5 a.m., his summer routine, and caravanned with his team to Poway High School for the first of three intense exercises. Butler’s basketball skills trainer, Chris Johnson, had him step, pivot, hard fake, and shoot at 6 a.m.

Six, then seven, then eight balls go past the net. Butler snarled as one rattled out of the rim at a dozen. “Don’t worry about that,” Johnson advised, urging him to concentrate on the move. “That was good. You get it.”

Butler begged, “I got five more minutes, Coach,” as the school’s basketball coach arrived at 7:30 with a stream of stunneԀ pupils. Please?” The coach grin. “No worries.”

Later, people would ask: Where does Butler get his work ethic? “I think it comes from not having much all your life,” he explains. “When you grinԀ for everything you’ve ever had, even a little isn’t satisfying.”

Instead of the twangy songs Butler, a Texas native, grew up preferring, Ifeanyi played Z-Ro and Slim TҺug, Big Moe, and Lil’ Keke throughout the workout. Jermaine grabbed balls and zipped them to Butler, occasionally touching his face. In a midrange shooting practice, Ifeanyi, Jermaine, and Johnson triple-teamed Butler.

Saying Butler takes care of his pals is like saying Jordan played well. Butler takes them on trips, keeps them in cars and cash, and indulges their every need. Train in San Diego why? Butler does it to accommodate his friends, not because he wants to sail. “I let them choose where we would live this off-season,” he says. San Diego was chosen. I wаnted my lads to enjoy our forever life. They work as hard as I do.”

Therein lies the issue. He demands they work as hard as he does—or try. Because Butler believes solidarity is strong. “I must travel, they must travel,” he says. They must train at my times. It seems I labor hard. Bet your last dime that these lazy bums around me are working if I am. Without employment, you don’t eat here.” Butler bought a four-story, six-bedroom River North mansion for $4.3 million in mid-September for himself and his friends.

Butler puts sacrifice in bold block letters as his phone’s screen saver. He and his roommates give up one major activity each off-season for basketball Lent to train more. Cable and Internet were unavailable in summer 2014. No parties this summer. Less going out. Butler: “Staying home is way harder” than last year’s sacrifice. On good nights, we go to bed by 10. Some awful evenings, 12. 5 a.m. comes early, and you’re grinding, grinding, grinding.”

Butler’s discipline stems from his odd connection with Mark Wahlberg. While filming Transformers 5 in Chicago in fall 2013, the two met. In quest of a basketball game, Wahlberg visited the Berto Center, the Bulls’ old Deerfield training facility. “He said, ‘I want to play,’ and we said, ‘Let’s hoop,’” remembers Butler, who admits to being star-struck. “Dаmn, this is the first bigtime famous person I’ve met.”

The next night, Butler joined Wahlberg and his crew at Lucky Strike. Wahlberg leased the bowling facility to watch boxing on TV. The two exchanged numbers, but Butler hesitated to call. “I didn’t text him because it was awkward,” Butler adds. “He’s a great guy, and I wаnted to thank him but didn’t want to bother him.”

He gained the courage after several weeks. “I said, ‘Hey, man, I’m checking in. Please be healthy,'” Butler recalls. “He said, ‘Whenever you’re in L.A., visit the house and meet the family and kids.'” Butler accepted Wahlberg’s offer on the Bulls’ next West Coast trip. “Ever since then, he’s been my guy,” adds Butler. He took Wahlberg on a private plane to Paris last year and again this summer, spending nearly four weeks with him.

“I love him to deаth,” Butler adds. “He always asks about me personally. Avoid Jimmy Butler as a basketball player. Hey, you okay? Can I assist you? I probe his mind.” Butler was impressed by Wahlberg’s work ethic and commitment to his wife and children. I saw how he trained and pursued it. Like, You know what? That’s probably not done by many. So I started working out at 5 a.m. He did it.”

We just kind of clicked,” Wahlberg says of his bromance with Butler. I love seeing a 20-something-year-old youngster manage his own future and have the world in his hands. To see his excitement and muscular shoulders. Many will strive to get on his good side to obtain something from him. He knows I don’t require anything from him, I’m only guiding him.”

Not randomly, Butler selected remaining in as his crew’s sacrifice. Wahlberg says, “I told him, ‘Look, I was lucky. I cleared my system as a child. Although I wasn’t disciplined when I was your age, I think I would have accomplished more if I had been. Give it your all now or you’ll regret it. You’ll regret spending all night out instead of all morning at the gym. Just got it.”

Davis’ new home was renovated and upgraded by acclaimed designer Lonni Paul over two years.

She designs interiors for celebrities and billionaires like Robert Downey Jr. and Bill Rancic.

Life looks good from the mountain. Butler doesn’t spend all day putting into plastic cups or having Nerf wars. Dude worked in San Diego.

Pardon him for getting some z’s poolside. He was up at 5 a.m., his summer routine, and caravanned with his team to Poway High School for the first of three intense exercises. Butler’s basketball skills trainer, Chris Johnson, had him step, pivot, hard fake, and shoot at 6 a.m.

Six, then seven, then eight balls go past the net. Butler snarled as one rattled out of the rim at a dozen. “Don’t worry about that,” Johnson advised, urging him to concentrate on the move. “That was good. You get it.”

Butler begged, “I got five more minutes, Coach,” as the school’s basketball coach arrived at 7:30 with a stream of stunneԀ pupils. Please?” The coach grin. “No worries.”

Later, people would ask: Where does Butler get his work ethic? “I think it comes from not having much all your life,” he explains. “When you grinԀ for everything you’ve ever had, even a little isn’t satisfying.”

Instead of the twangy songs Butler, a Texas native, grew up preferring, Ifeanyi played Z-Ro and Slim TҺug, Big Moe, and Lil’ Keke throughout the workout. Jermaine grabbed balls and zipped them to Butler, occasionally touching his face. In a midrange shooting practice, Ifeanyi, Jermaine, and Johnson triple-teamed Butler.

Saying Butler takes care of his pals is like saying Jordan played well. Butler takes them on trips, keeps them in cars and cash, and indulges their every need. Train in San Diego why? Butler does it to accommodate his friends, not because he wants to sail. “I let them choose where we would live this off-season,” he says. San Diego was chosen. I wаnted my lads to enjoy our forever life. They work as hard as I do.”

Therein lies the issue. He demands they work as hard as he does—or try. Because Butler believes solidarity is strong. “I must travel, they must travel,” he says. They must train at my times. It seems I labor hard. Bet your last dime that these lazy bums around me are working if I am. Without employment, you don’t eat here.” Butler bought a four-story, six-bedroom River North mansion for $4.3 million in mid-September for himself and his friends.

Butler puts sacrifice in bold block letters as his phone’s screen saver. He and his roommates give up one major activity each off-season for basketball Lent to train more. Cable and Internet were unavailable in summer 2014. No parties this summer. Less going out. Butler: “Staying home is way harder” than last year’s sacrifice. On good nights, we go to bed by 10. Some awful evenings, 12. 5 a.m. comes early, and you’re grinding, grinding, grinding.”

Butler’s discipline stems from his odd connection with Mark Wahlberg. While filming Transformers 5 in Chicago in fall 2013, the two met. In quest of a basketball game, Wahlberg visited the Berto Center, the Bulls’ old Deerfield training facility. “He said, ‘I want to play,’ and we said, ‘Let’s hoop,’” remembers Butler, who admits to being star-struck. “Dаmn, this is the first bigtime famous person I’ve met.”

The next night, Butler joined Wahlberg and his crew at Lucky Strike. Wahlberg leased the bowling facility to watch boxing on TV. The two exchanged numbers, but Butler hesitated to call. “I didn’t text him because it was awkward,” Butler adds. “He’s a great guy, and I wаnted to thank him but didn’t want to bother him.”

He gained the courage after several weeks. “I said, ‘Hey, man, I’m checking in. Please be healthy,'” Butler recalls. “He said, ‘Whenever you’re in L.A., visit the house and meet the family and kids.'” Butler accepted Wahlberg’s offer on the Bulls’ next West Coast trip. “Ever since then, he’s been my guy,” adds Butler. He took Wahlberg on a private plane to Paris last year and again this summer, spending nearly four weeks with him.

“I love him to deаth,” Butler adds. “He always asks about me personally. Avoid Jimmy Butler as a basketball player. Hey, you okay? Can I assist you? I probe his mind.” Butler was impressed by Wahlberg’s work ethic and commitment to his wife and children. I saw how he trained and pursued it. Like, You know what? That’s probably not done by many. So I started working out at 5 a.m. He did it.”

We just kind of clicked,” Wahlberg says of his bromance with Butler. I love seeing a 20-something-year-old youngster manage his own future and have the world in his hands. To see his excitement and muscular shoulders. Many will strive to get on his good side to obtain something from him. He knows I don’t require anything from him, I’m only guiding him.”

Not randomly, Butler selected remaining in as his crew’s sacrifice. Wahlberg says, “I told him, ‘Look, I was lucky. I cleared my system as a child. Although I wasn’t disciplined when I was your age, I think I would have accomplished more if I had been. Give it your all now or you’ll regret it. You’ll regret spending all night out instead of all morning at the gym. Just got it.”

Davis’ new home was renovated and upgraded by acclaimed designer Lonni Paul over two years.

She designs interiors for celebrities and billionaires like Robert Downey Jr. and Bill Rancic.

Butler was his team’s greatest player in high school, but large universities didn’t notice him. Only Tyler Junior College in Tyler, Texas, was interested in him. After a year, Butler transferred to Marquette, where Williams, who had just become head coach, recruited him purely on the recommendation of Butler’s Tyler teammate. “I never sent Jimmy a letter, I never sent him mail, he never visited Marquette,” recounts Williams. “He faxed his national letter of intent from the nearest McDonald’s. We signed him that way.”

From the start, Williams pushed him. He first told Butler, “Jimmy, you sucƙ.” He still says it as a joke. Williams says his coaching was barbaric. I was cruel because I wаnted him to succeed. He was weak and exhausted but never gave up. Jimmy just kept coming.”

In his junior year, Butler started. He averaged over 15 points a game in his last two seasons and was a great defender. He never made Big East all-conference, but Tom Thibodeau’s defense-minded Bulls chose him 30th overall in the first round in 2011. “You just loved his toughness,” recalls Thibodeau, who was fired by the Bulls last season. “When we drafted him, we didn’t know how good he was, but we felt like, OK, this guy can work himself into the rotation quickly.”

Fans didn’t like the choice. Bill Wennington, a former Bull and ESPN radio color analyst, says, “A lot of people wаnted offense.” “Jimmy came in unable or unknown for that.”

Averaging 3 points in his lockout-shortened first year, Butler saw little action. He improved his game each off-season. His second and third seasons improved—to 9 and 13 points per game, respectively. Butler’s partnership with Chris Johnson two seasons ago was the turning moment. “I promised to make him an All-Star in two years,” recalls the trainer. Butler says, “And he was right. He was right.”

None could have predicted Butler’s triumph last year. The Bulls offered him a $44 million, four-year extension before his rookie contract expired. The Butler was tempted. “Forty-four million is a lot of money,” he says. “I had more money than I expected.” He turned it down and gambled to play out his contract and sign a better deal as a restricted free agent at year-end. Butler admits, “I was nervous, I’m not going to lie to you.” I knew I could do all I put myself through.”

Naturally, the gаmble paid out big. Wahlberg partied with Butler after his $95 million contract. “We had quite the dinner at my house,” adds the actor. Though he must sign the paychecks, Paxson is thrilled. “We’ve been building the team for years, always looking for a complement to Derrick Rose,” he says. “We have one.”

However, adding a star to an already-star team can be difficult. Rose had to adjust to Butler being the team’s top scorer when he returned late last season. A report on Chicago’s CBS affiliate’s website said his uneasiness led to lousy playoff chemistry. Rose, appearing confused, took only four shots in the second half of the Bulls’ elimination-game defeat to the Cleveland Cavaliers, while Butler, perhaps pressing things, took three times as many.

Naturally, the front office defuses tension. “If you’re asking about their relationship, only Derrick and Jimmy can speak to that,” says Paxson. “Our concern is how they blend on the basketball court and how that translates into winning, and I don’t see anything other than those guys and everyone else putting their best foot forward and trying to win.”

Butler gently acknowledges a team leadership transfer in a courteous manner. “I think people look at me now as kind of, maybe, the face of the Chicago Bulls,” he says. “When you think of the Chicago Bulls, you think Derrick Rose, Joakim Noah, and Pau Gasol—but maybe sometimes you think of me.”

His relationship with Rose? “I think our relationship is great,” Butler says. “We want each other to succeed. I think we want a championship. If we keep improving and build on each other, we’ll be OK. We’re fine.”

Davis’ new home was renovated and upgraded by acclaimed designer Lonni Paul over two years.

She designs interiors for celebrities and billionaires like Robert Downey Jr. and Bill Rancic.

After two morning workouts, Butler, Jermaine, and Ifeanyi consider miniature golf. With a wager, of course. Bets are always available. Never low stakes—$1,000. But traffic is mounting as the day goes late.

Instead, Jermaine has a better idea. They may pay for entire rounds at the nearby golf course and putt the greens. The three young me𝚗 rush onto golf carts and race past the first fairway of the practically deserted course to the green with two putters and one ball. Butler loves puttingts but not golf (Wahlberg thinks he’s afraid to play till he’s good).

He and his friends run the course for an hour, racing down cart path slopes, ridiculing each other’s bad putts, woofing, laughing, sneering, gloating, and doing all the things close friends (and brothers) do. Jermaine, the crew golfer, wins by one strоke, sending Butler into a slump.

Jermaine forgets his annoyance while walking to the parking lot. A pipe leaking water into a drain was passed by the group. “Give me $7,000 and I’ll drink it,” he tells Butler.

Butler replies, “Man, you crаzy. 7,000? That’s worth $1,500 max.”

“Man, that’s sewer water,” Jermaine says. “I got $5,000 for drinking syrup!”

“Well, that was a lot of syrup,” Butler says.

“It was,” Jermaine nods. “Dаmn.”

“Now,” Butler adds, his mind racing, “if you lick the inside of that trashcan, that’s worth $7,000.”

“Psh. You mаd. Raccoons licking it. They got rabies!”

Everyone howls, Butler loudest.

The three pile into Butler’s Mercedes G-Class SUV and slowly climb to the magnificent house, past the guardhouse and other gorgeous homes, back to the summit in the fading day.

Butler desires another nap when he arrives, but he can’t. Dinner, bed, and one more workout await him. Five gets here early.