Miami Heat forward Jimmy Butler drew the attention of the entire NBA community on Media Day with his new look, sporting piercings on his eye, lip, and nose, as well as a new hairstyle and black-painted fingernails.
Butler explained, “I am very emotional right now. This is my emo state, and I like this. This is me. This is how I’m feeling as of late.”
Butler’s teammates taken aback by new style choice
Butler’s unique style drew smiles and laughs from coaches, while his teammates appeared somewhat taken aback. Heat center Bam Adebayo, who hadn’t seen Butler’s new look before meeting with reporters, initially thought someone had photoshopped the images.
“That is not real… That is [expletive] hilarious,” Adebayo exclaimed. Meanwhile, Heat guard Tyler Herro quipped, “He told me this was his Halloween today.”
This isn’t the first time he’s decided to change up his appearance for Media Day. Last year, he surprised everyone by sporting deadlocks, a departure from his usual look.
It’s unclear whether Butler will keep this look when the Heat return to practice on Tuesday. The team’s training camp will be held at Florida Atlantic University in nearby Boca Raton.
Top pick Victor Wembanyama takes relaxed approach
As for another rising star, Victor Wembanyama, who attended his first Media Day with San Antonio Spurs, the team’s head coach, Gregg Popovich, is taking a relaxed approach to handling the attention that comes with being the No. 1 draft pick this season.
Popovich stated: “You all are going to do what you do. Fans are going to do what they do. But because I know the players, and because he’s got such high character and he’s used to this – this isn’t the first time that he’s gotten attention – I think just handling it organically is better.”
Regarding the team’s travel arrangements, Popovich humorously added, “If there are people hanging on the top of the bus, we’ve got to get them off. Short of that, we’ll be OK.”
Despite the summer’s discussions about Wembanyama’s height, with estimates ranging from 7-foot-5, the Spurs are officially listing him at 7-foot-3.
