Jimmy Butler is an excellent basketball player. "Playoff Jimmy" is a force. Impressive as Butler is as a player, he's even better at trolling.
Ahead of the Heat's media day for the 2023-24 season, Butler took to Instagram to share photos of a new look. The close-up images shared on his Instagram story highlighted new piercings on Butler's eyebrow, nose and lip with no further explanation.
As media day got underway, the masses got their first glimpse at Butler's new look in its full glory — and it quickly became the talk of the league.
"I'm emo," Butler said of his new look. Those in attendance were thoroughly amused.
Why does Butler have an "emo" haircut as well as lip and nose rings in his headshot for the 2023-24 season? Here is the explanation of Butler's latest trolling endeavor.
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Why Jimmy Butler has 'emo' haircut, lip and nose rings in photos
When Butler arrived at the podium at media day, he was met with laughter. As he sat down in front of the media, Butler offered this opening statement: "I'm emo. Leave me alone."
When asked about the look, Butler responded, "This is my emotional state. I'm one with my emotions, so this is what you get."
The "emotional" aspect of Butler's look was surely a play on Miami's inability to strike a deal for superstar Damian Lillard, who was linked to the Heat throughout the offseason. After Lillard was dealt to the Bucks, Butler used his appearance to project how upset the media expected him to be.
Butler cut no corners with his media day look, sporting black polish on his fingernails and entering the Kaseya Center wearing an all-black outfit while playing Fall Out Boy's "Sugar, We're Goin' Down."
As Butler stood for group photos with running mates Tyler Herro and Bam Adebayo, he could be heard telling Adebayo, "This is my Halloween."
In short, Butler's awareness of the importance of media day photos has created a tradition of him tapping into a different persona, opting for an "emo" look in 2023 after wearing deadlock extensions in 2022.
Butler's last "normal" headshot came before the 2021-22 season.
To add to it all, Butler reverted back to his normal look within 24 hours of media day ending.
Headband Jimmy is here & ready to hoop pic.twitter.com/3ny1Gj2DJH
— Miami HEAT (@MiamiHEAT) October 3, 2023
Now, as the 2023-24 season gets underway, the league faces a tough decision: Will it use Butler's new headshot?
Last season, the absurdity of Butler's headshot resulted in some sites opting for his 2021-22 photo. ESPN's "NBA Today" took it to another level, using Butler's video game headshot from "NBA 2K" at one point.
They really used a headshot of Jimmy Butler from 2K 😭 pic.twitter.com/dlSrYQy34E
— FanDuel (@FanDuel) January 7, 2023
Even some of the highlights posted to the NBA's official YouTube account were forced to use the photo of "Dreadlock Jimmy" for the thumbnail image.
This year, promotional photos, highlights and materials could all feature Butler in his emotional state. And while he has since gone back to the look we're accustomed to seeing, his media day moment will live on forever — or at least throughout the 2023-24 season.
