Jimmy Butler's extreme work ethic appears to be catching on in Miami.
Butler showed up to the gym at 3:30am earlier this week to get in a workout before the Heat's first practice, a practice which officially began at 10am, and now some other Heat players have followed his lead. Among them, the team's new big man Meyers Leonard, and third-year center Bam Adebayo.
Leonard took to social media on Thursday morning to confirm that he was ready to hit the gym at 3:33am.
"The thought of being outworked was not one I enjoyed. Jimmy is setting a new standard and I love it."
He added, "For clarity, this has nothing to do with me. This has everything to do with a work ethic that I respect from our leader and I’m here for the challenge. Also S/O to Bam, he was there too."
Following his early bird training session earlier this week, Butler explained that he wasn't intentionally trying to show up any of his teammates, he simply couldn't wait to get in the gym. "Just a little extra work while y'all in your third dream," quipped Butler.
He added, per the Sun-Sentinel's Ira Winderman:
"I just want to compete."
"I just want to hoop. All the training is cool. But I want to get out there with my guys, talk a little bit. But more than anything, just compete. I think that's why we do what we do over the summer. For real, it's loading up for this. I think today was a good start."