This year when Jimmy Butler appeared on media day with a “no shenanigans” look, everybody was surprised. Yes, nobody thought the former Heat star would appear normally to speak about the season. That’s the sort of impression Butler had created from his creativity over the past two seasons. It was only broken-down contract negotiations that stopped him from doing anything audacious again.
But that didn’t stop the fans and the media from expecting it. Why would they? The 35-year-old Warriors forward made it his media day mission to give the NBA’s front office a world of trouble. He loved to be the chaos maker with the unique appearance he would conjure specifically on the day the league took its pictures for the websites.
His most iconic was also his last one. That day Jimmy Butler connected with his emotional side.
The origin of Emo Jimmy Butler
During his appearance on Netflix’s ‘Starting 5’, the world got a glimpse into what Jimmy Butler thinks when preparing for media day. For players, it may be deciding on their objectives and dealing with the media. For him though, it’s about what character he should represent during media day.
In 2023, he would sport the most viral look from his short collection. Jimmy Butler arrived at media day with flat and ironed-out hair. He had multiple piercings and his eyes were pronounced with black eyeliner. That was the birth of ‘Emo Jimmy’. “This is my emotional state. I’m one with my emotions, so this is what you get,” he said about the appearance.
“I’m emo”
– Jimmy Butler
(Via @ByTimReynolds ) pic.twitter.com/IrL9Nqqvyv
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) October 2, 2023
It instantly became the most talked about thing from last year’s media day. No outlets could focus on honest interviews. Everybody was burdened by curiosity. And that’s exactly what Butler wanted. Aside from treating it like Halloween, the Warriors forward has admitted he wants to be a pain for the NBA.
It’s because the images taken on media day are used for the NBA’s official websites. And the ‘Emo’ look Jimmy Butler boasted stayed up all of last season. But this wasn’t the first of it.
A history of Jimmy Butler and his media day antics
Jimmy Butler began his media day fun a year before sporting the ‘Emo’ look. In 2022, to the surprise of his Miami Heat teammates, Jimmy Butler entered the arena with long dreads. The look floored several of his teammates. And that’s when Butler revealed his true intentions behind being disruptive.
“I’m just messing with stuff to make the internet mad—or at least make the NBA mad. That was my goal this summer, and it worked. I know they’re gonna have to put that picture up all year on the website, on the TV graphics, everywhere,” he told Anthony Slater at the time. As expected, he reverted back to his clean braids when the season started.
That’s what grew the anticipation of the media for the following season. Everybody wondered what stops Jimmy Butler could pull out next. Then came the ‘Emo Jimmy Butler’, a look that instantly became a league-wide sensation. It caused so much trouble that during one of the segments, ESPN opted to use an NBA 2k image of the Heat star rather than his media day look. The NBA wished they could do the same.
But who thought his antics and outspoken personality would one day kill his creativity? That happened this year when Butler didn’t have any outrageous looks. After his public fallout with Pat Riley and a contract extension looming, he vowed for “No shenanigans”. This ended Butler’s history of making Media Day memorable.
However, now in a refreshing atmosphere in the Bay where fans and teammates have embraced his personality with open arms, maybe those looks will make a comeback. The fans a
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