Back in 2022, Jimmy Butler left fans, the Miami Heat organization, and the press in a confused state when he debuted fresh locs out of nowhere during the NBA’s annual Media Day event. When asked about the hairstyle, the star forward came clean about his intentions. “I’m just messing with stuff to make the internet mad. That was my goal this summer and it worked,” he said.
Perhaps inspired by last year’s response, Butler decided to take things to another level for 2023. Earlier today (Oct. 2), he appeared at Miami’s Kaseya Center rocking full-on goth garb — complete with painted fingernails, face piercings, and straightened hair that covered one eye. In clips shared on social media, the 34-year-old even added a new persona to the entire look, which left teammates like Tyler Herro and Bam Adebayo in tears.
"I'm just messing with stuff to make the internet mad. That was my goal this summer and it worked."
— NBA (@NBA) September 26, 2022
Jimmy speaks on his offseason hair styles. 🤣#NBAMediaDay pic.twitter.com/5cDFBFadhB
As expected, he was more than ready for the reporters — none of whom were ready for him. “Yea, yea, laugh it up… I feel like I’m very emotional right now. This is my emo state, and I like this,” he explained. “This is me. This is how I’m feeling as of late… You never know how I’m going to wake up. This is how I feel today. We’ll see tomorrow. Tomorrow might be in all yellow.”
Butler joined the Miami Heat back in 2019 as part of a trade deal with the Philadelphia 76ers. During the 2022-2023 season, he helped to lead the team to the NBA Finals. Outside of sports, he’s been an outspoken fan of country music. As Butler explained in an interview with Rolling Stone, fans can soon expect to hear the budding musical talent on wax soon.
“I’m in the lab writing and producing country music. We got some real artists and songwriters. We probably got around 45 tracks right now, and I hope to go write some more,” he revealed. “There’s definitely going to be an album. That’s the goal. I just don’t know when.”
Check out NBA and Miami Heat clips showing Butler’s emo vibes below.
Jimmy had Tyler shook and Bam in tears 😭 pic.twitter.com/VDx4Bz8wUr
— Miami HEAT (@MiamiHEAT) October 2, 2023
Nobody does Media Day like Jimmy Butler does Media Day pic.twitter.com/mjCCblN2rz
— Miami HEAT (@MiamiHEAT) October 2, 2023