Former NBA Top-Three Pick Sends Message to Jimmy Butler for First Post in Four Years

The article outlines the career trajectory of former NBA player O.J. Mayo, illustrating the common paths for college basketball stars: superstardom, becoming a solid role player, or exiting the league. Mayo starred in his single college season at USC, averaging 20.7 points per game and earning multiple All-Pac-10 honors in 2008, though USC later vacated all wins from that season due to Mayo receiving improper benefits.

Drafted 3rd overall in the 2008 NBA Draft and traded to Memphis, Mayo played eight NBA seasons (Grizzlies, Mavericks, Bucks), averaging 13.8 points over 547 games. However, his NBA tenure was plagued by off-court issues, including a 10-game suspension in 2011 for a positive steroid test (which he attributed to an over-the-counter supplement) and culminated in a July 2016 dismissal and disqualification from the NBA for violating the anti-drug policy (acknowledging marijuana and prescription painkiller use). He never returned to the NBA after his two-year ban.

Following his NBA exit, Mayo played two years in the Chinese Basketball Association. His final professional season was the 2021-2022 campaign with UNICS Kazan in the Euroleague, where he averaged only 5.8 points per game.

The article notes Mayo recently made his first Instagram post since 2021, featuring a collage and shouting out Jimmy Butler ("S/O @jimmybutler 2025 China Tour ! Photography @visualsbyave") after attending Butler's event in China. While Mayo and Butler never played together and had a notable on-court confrontation during their playing days (Mayo's last NBA season was 2015-16 while Butler was with Chicago), they have since become close off the court.