Jimmy Butler has stunned the NBA world and the internet with his newest hairdo. On Monday, the Miami Heat player, 34, arrived at Kaseya Center, where the Miami Heat play, for media day with a straightened hairstyle, painted nails, and piercings on his lips, nose, and eyebrows.

In a video from NBA on ESPN, when Butler entered the press conference room, Butler said to the chuckling reporters, “Yeah, yeah, laugh it up”. He went on to say: “This is my emotional state. I’m one with my emotions. So, this is what you get”.  

Butler’s new look, dubbed “emo” by the internet, is already being talked about across the league and has become the latest obsession of NBA fans everywhere.

Butler’s new hairstyle is more than just a haircut - it’s a representation of his emotional state. Recently, Butler and his team have missed out on their chance to acquire superstar point guard Damian Lillard after he was traded to the Milwaukee Bucks in a blockbuster deal. Butler was hoping that Lillard would give his team a chance to win a championship this coming season. 

After leading his team on a Cinderella run to the 2023 NBA Finals, Butler will now have to face Lillard and the Milwaukee Bucks in the East Conference. The trade has strengthened Milwaukee's chances of becoming a championship contender and has left Miami reeling as they also lose key players, Gabe Vincent and Max Strus. Hence, why Butler is wearing his emotions in his new look. 

Butler's new look has sparked a debate on social media, with fans and critics alike weighing in on the new style to a flurry of comparisons to the popular emo bands of the early 2000s, such as Secondhand Serenade, Fall Out Boy, and Panic! at the Disco.

One user on X, formerly known as Twitter, posted a tweet stating, "Emo Jimmy Butler for President". Another user of X posted a tweet stating how Taylor Swift fans, also known as “swifties”, are starting to watch football because of Swift's dating rumors with Travis Kelce, and how she will start watching basketball because of Butler’s "emo era”.

When a reporter asked Butler if he had any plans to continue with his new look, he said: “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”.

 

 Edited by: Anwen Venn

Photo Credit: Joe Glorioso/Wikimedia Commons