John Erik Butler Jr. (born December 4, 2002) is an American professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

player for the

Capital City Go-Go The Capital City Go-Go are an American professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in Washington, D.C., and are affiliated with the Washington Wizards. The Go-Go play their home games at the CareFirst Arena. The team is owned by Monum ...

of the

NBA G League The NBA G League, or simply the G League, is a professional basketball league in North America that serves as the Minor league#Basketball, developmental league of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The league comprises 31 teams; as of ...

. He played

college basketball College basketball is basketball that is played by teams of Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. In the Higher education in the United States, United States, colleges and universities are governed by collegiate athle ...

for the

Florida State Seminoles The Florida State Seminoles are the athletic teams representing Florida State University (FSU) located in Tallahassee, Florida. They compete as a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I, prima ...

High school career

Butler played basketball for Christ Church Episcopal School in

Greenville, South Carolina Greenville ( ; ) is a city in Greenville County, South Carolina, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 70,720 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of municipalities in South Carolina, sixth-most pop ...

, where he was coached by his father, John Sr., and was teammates with his younger brother, Jordan. As a senior, he averaged 20.1 points, 8.5 rebounds and 2.9 blocks per game, earning Upstate Player of the Year honors from ''

The Greenville News ''The Greenville News'' is a daily morning newspaper published in Greenville, South Carolina. After ''The State (newspaper), The State'' in Columbia and Charleston's ''The Post and Courier'', it is the third largest paper in South Carolina. Hi ...

''. Butler was named Class 2A Player of the Year and led his team to the state championship. A four-star recruit, he committed to playing college basketball for

Florida State Florida State University (FSU or Florida State) is a Public university, public research university in Tallahassee, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preeminent university in the s ...

over offers from

Georgia Tech The Georgia Institute of Technology (commonly referred to as Georgia Tech, GT, and simply Tech or the Institute) is a public research university and institute of technology in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. Established in 1885, it has the lar ...

Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...

South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...

, Vanderbilt and Wake Forest.

College career

On March 2, 2022, Butler recorded a career-high 16 points, eight rebounds and four blocks in a 74–70 win against Notre Dame. As a freshman, he averaged 5.9 points, 3.2 rebounds and 1.2 blocks per game, shooting 39.3 percent from three-point range. Butler declared for the

2022 NBA draft The 2022 NBA draft (branded as the 2022 NBA Draft presented by State Farm for sponsorship reasons), the 76th edition of the National Basketball Association's annual NBA draft, draft, was held on June 23, 2022, at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New ...

and opted to forgo his remaining college eligibility.

Professional career

Portland Trail Blazers (2022–2023)

After going undrafted in the 2022 NBA draft, Butler joined the

New Orleans Pelicans The New Orleans Pelicans are an American professional basketball team based in New Orleans. The Pelicans compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southwest Division (NBA), Southwest Division of the Western Confere ...

for

NBA Summer League The NBA Summer League, also known as the Las Vegas Summer League, is an off-season basketball competition organized by the National Basketball Association (NBA). NBA teams come together to try out different summer rosters instead of their regula ...

play. On October 3, 2022, he was signed to a

two-way contract A two-way contract is a professional sports contract that stipulates that an athlete's salary is dependent upon the league in which the athlete is assigned to play. This is opposed to a one-way contract that would pay the same salary regardless o ...

by the Pelicans for the 22–23 season. However, he was waived on October 10. On October 20, 2022, Butler signed a two-way contract with the

Portland Trail Blazers The Portland Trail Blazers (colloquially known as the Blazers) are an American professional basketball team based in Portland, Oregon. The Trail Blazers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Northwest Division (N ...

, and on February 26, 2023, he was assigned to the

Stockton Kings The Stockton Kings are an American professional basketball team of the NBA G League based in Stockton, California, and are affiliated with the Sacramento Kings. The Kings play their home games at the Adventist Health Arena and compete in the G ...

by the Trail Blazers. On July 6, 2023, Butler signed another two-way contract with the Blazers, but was waived on October 21.

Capital City Go-Go (2023–present)

On October 23, 2023, Butler signed a two-way contract with the

Washington Wizards The Washington Wizards are an American professional basketball team based in Washington, D.C. The Wizards compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference. The team plays i ...

. However, he was waived on December 8, after appearing in nine games with the

, Washington's

affiliate. On December 10, he rejoined Capital City. On October 13, 2024, re-signed with the Wizards, but was waived six days later. On October 28, he rejoined the Go-Go.

Wisconsin Herd (2025–present)

On March 6th, 2025, Butler was traded to the Wisconsin Herd for the returning rights of Daryl Morsell, 2026 G-League first round and second round pick.

Career statistics

NBA

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Portland Portland most commonly refers to: *Portland, Oregon, the most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon *Portland, Maine, the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maine *Isle of Portland, a tied island in the English Channel Portland may also r ...

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College

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Personal life

Butler's mother, Casie, played college basketball for

. His father, John Sr., serves as head basketball coach at Christ Church Episcopal School.

References

External links

*
Florida State Seminoles bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Butler, John Jr. 2002 births Living people 21st-century American sportsmen American men's basketball players Capital City Go-Go players Florida State Seminoles men's basketball players Portland Trail Blazers players Power forwards Basketball players from Greenville, South Carolina Stockton Kings players Undrafted NBA players