During the May 7, 2021, game between the Miami Heat and Minnesota Timberwolves, former teammates Jimmy Butler and Karl-Anthony Towns rekindled their feud from their time together in Minnesota.
With 30 seconds left in the game and the outcome already decided with the Heat up 117-108, Butler suddenly went to Towns’ face to argue.
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Butler: “You’re soft as baby s—t”
Towns: “Hahaha”
Butler: “You’re soft as baby s—t”
Towns: “When do you wanna play ni—a, call Rachel Nichols, ni—a”
Butler: “You’re a loser”
Towns: “Call Rachel, ni—a”
Butler: “I already punked you once”
What Jimmy Butler Said To Karl Anthony Towns In 2021👀:
Butler: “You’re soft as baby sh*t”
Towns: “Call Rachel Nichols, n****”
Butler: “You’re a loser… I already punked you once”
This comes after their tension in Minnesota, where Butler yelled: “Y’all better mf pay me!” pic.twitter.com/0kp1oJblbE
— LegendZ (@legendz_prod) September 12, 2025
Butler exploded at his teammates in practice
Make no mistake here — the beef was only between Butler and Towns, who never got along when they were teammates because Jimmy felt Karl was too soft. Rachel Nichols got involved in that conversation because after the conflict between the two stars erupted during a Timberwolves practice on October 10, 2018, she interviewed Butler at his house, and he absolutely trashed Towns and his teammates during the ESPN exclusive.
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But as former Timberwolves guard Jeff Teague once said, Butler may have planned the entire scenario.
Reports said that he already had a scheduled interview with Nichols that day. After missing the first two weeks of training camp following a trade demand, he suddenly showed up to practice that day and beat the team’s starters in a scrimmage while playing with the third stringers. After that, he went to trash-talk everybody in the gym and left to do the interview at home.
“We all practice for another hour, we all showering, we go in the locker room, ESPN pop up — Rachel Nichols and Jimmy Butler on TV. He like, ‘Yea, I just killed them at practice.’ I can’t make this stuff up. He came and killed us and did an interview at home. One of the most iconic moments I’ve ever been a part of in basketball, bro!” Teague recalled on the Club 520 Podcast.
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Butler and Nichols’ history
The 2018 interview was about what happened at the Timberwolves’ practice, but the interviews that took place in the 2020 NBA Bubble had fans speculating something else — that something was going on between Nichols and Butler outside of their professional dynamic. Rumors ever swirled that the two hooked up inside Butler’s hotel room in Orlando, although they never addressed those.
By 2021, many fans revisited that infamous 2018 interview through this lens, which may explain why Towns invoked her name during the exchange.
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Remember when the world thought Jimmy Butler was hooking up with Rachel Nichols after this interview? pic.twitter.com/Mh3wUKsLRa
— Heat Culture (@HeatCulture13) December 3, 2023
Since that heated moment in 2021, Butler and Towns have not had another public confrontation. Both stars have moved forward with their careers, but fans can’t help but wonder what will happen the next time they meet in a high-stakes game.
Whether they eventually settle their differences — or add another explosive chapter to this long-running feud — remains to be seen. Until then, NBA fans will continue to watch and wait for the next flare-up between these two former teammates.
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This story was originally reported by Basketball Network on Oct 4, 2025, where it first appeared in the Old School section. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.