Maybe losing in the NBA Finals, losing out on Damian Lillard to the Bucks and seeing Jrue Holiday go to the Celtics has Jimmy Butler feeling down.
The Heat star showed up to media day Monday ready for Warped Tour, rocking an “emo” look with long, straightened hair, piercings and his fingernails painted black.
“I’m feeling this,” Butler said, according to the Miami Herald. “I’m very emotional right now. This is my emo state and I like this. This is me. This is how I’ve been feeling as of late.”
Butler, 34, could just be having some fun at the start of a new season; he arrived at last year’s training camp in dreadlocks that quickly disappeared.
“I mean, I never know how I’m going to wake up in the morning, man,” Butler said, per the Herald. “So this is how I feel today and we’ll see tomorrow. Tomorrow I might be in all yellow, who knows. You’re lucky we didn’t get to wear our black jerseys because I’m supposed to be in all black.”
Butler’s teammate, Bam Adebayo, thought he was being lied to when showed a photo of Butler.
“What is wrong with this man? No, man. That’s not real. Oh my god, bro,” Adebayo said. “I knew I should have worn a blonde ‘fro. I’m going to start having fun in training camp.”
While the Heat seem excited about a new season, no one would blame them if they were emotional about the recent moving and shaking in the Eastern Conference.
Lillard was dealt to Milwaukee last week despite requesting a trade to the Heat after 11 seasons with the Trail Blazers, who ended up flipping Holiday to Boston on Sunday.
Those moves will make getting back to the Finals much harder for the Heat, who also reached the Finals during the 2020 bubble playoffs, where they lost to the Lakers.
Miami was swept by the Bucks in the first round in 2021 before a seven-game defeat to the Celtics in the 2022 conference finals.
Butler went viral last week when a video showed his incredulous reaction to the $145 he spent on gas to fill up his Bugatti.