Jimmy Butler’s old criticism of Karl-Anthony Towns looks very different now that Towns has won the NBA championship Butler is still chasing.
The comment came from the messy 2018 Minnesota Timberwolves breakup, when Butler reportedly ripped Towns and Andrew Wiggins during a practice after requesting a trade.
At the time, plenty of people sided with Butler’s hard-edged view of the Wolves’ young stars. The ring count has since changed the argument.
Jimmy Butler called Karl-Anthony Towns soft during Minnesota Timberwolves fallout
In a 2018 report from Bleacher Report, Butler’s frustration with Towns and Wiggins was laid out during one of the most infamous practices of the decade.
“They [Karl-Anthony Towns and Andrew Wiggins] ain’t s___. They soft. He [KAT] can’t do s___ against me,” Butler allegedly said.
The three were teammates in Minnesota then, but Butler had already requested a trade and used the session to challenge the starters while playing with reserves.
The story became part of Butler’s mythology as a ruthless competitor who demanded more from teammates.
Towns and Wiggins, meanwhile, were painted by many as talented players who had not yet proved they could win at the highest level.
Karl-Anthony Towns and Andrew Wiggins rings make Jimmy Butler insult age badly
The years after that practice made the old quote look worse for Butler. Wiggins won the 2022 NBA championship with the Golden State Warriors, becoming a major two-way piece in their Finals win over the Boston Celtics.
Towns then won the 2026 title with the New York Knicks, helping end the franchise’s 53-year championship drought.
Butler has reached the Finals twice with the Miami Heat, in 2020 and 2023, but he still has not won a ring. That does not erase his playoff resume, but it changes the way the 2018 insult reads now.
The point is not that Towns or Wiggins were always beyond criticism. It is that Butler’s approach in Minnesota did not bring the group closer to a title, and the two players he mocked found championship success elsewhere before he did.
In hindsight, the “soft” label says as much about Butler’s failed Minnesota ending as it does about Towns. His attitude created a famous practice story, but it also helped blow up a roster that had more championship talent than the moment ever allowed.
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