Jimmy Butler had a new look for Media Day, and the NBA world immediately took notice.
The Miami Heat forward arrived for the team’s first official day of work this season with piercings — eye, lip and nose — along with a new hairstyle and his fingernails painted black.
It’s become a trend of sorts for Butler, who went through the Media Day gamut last year with dreadlocks in a deviation from his usual look.
“I’m very emotional right now. This is my emo state and I like this. This is me,” Butler said. “This is how I’m feeling as of late.”
Butler didn't elaborate much more on his new hairstyle. Nor did he say how long the look would last. He similarly showed up with a new style to last season's media day, sporting what he described as dreadlocks. They didn't survive the season, but lived on in his media headshots. In fact, when ESPN stopped using his media day photo, he kindly requested last season that they continue to do so.
 NBA season is grueling, and it hasn’t even started yet. Bringing some real-life humor to the occupation is a welcome sight, especially for a player as famous as Butler. As pop punk royalty Paramore—perhaps part of the inspiration for Butler’s appearance—said, “Ain’t it fun, living in the real world?” Any sort of glimpse into a player’s real personality is extremely fun and welcome behavior, and for someone who’s a documented troll like Butler, it just adds to his lore.
Damian Lillard—which ended with Lillard’s official trade to Milwaukee last week, and means that fellow sartorial star Tyler Herro is still in Miami—it’s nice for Butler to bring some levity to the squad’s first day of duty. His teammates, including Herro, are having fun with it, and the memes are pouring in like Butler’s mid-range jumpers. In classic anguished-soul style, some people won’t get it, and will poke fun at Butler’s “listens to The Cure once” fit. That’s fine. His running mate Bam Adebayo summed it up nicely, expressing the sentiment that every emo kid holds true about themselves but struggles to convey outwardly: “He’s just misunderstood.”
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