After an off-season in which it seemed like the N.B.A. never took a break, The New York Times talked to a few of the league’s stars about some of the other important things in their lives — anything but basketball.

First is Jimmy Butler, the four-time All-Star who joined the Miami Heat this summer after a deep postseason run with the Philadelphia 76ers. Part II: Kevin Love on his Instagram-worthy summer of travel.

MIAMI — The day before he won a gold medal with the United States men’s basketball team at the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro in 2016, Jimmy Butler tried a form of game preparation that was completely foreign. He watched the men’s soccer final as a fan at Brazil’s famed Maracanã stadium.

It was the first soccer match that Butler, then 26 , had ever attended.

“I watched the greatest soccer player of all time win gold as well,” Butler recalled. “You know who I’m talking about, right?”