NBA media day is, for the most part, a relatively quiet affair. Everyone talks, but few say or do much of note. We hear about how everyone is in the best shape of their life, how well their offseason went and how excited they are for what’s to come. But on balance, it’s among the duller notable dates on the NBA’s standard calendar. That’s what made Jimmy Butler’s ongoing hairstyle bit so amusing.
Butler typically wears his hair in standard, short braids. When he arrived at media day in 2022, however, he had grown his hair out into much longer dreadlocks. A year later, he arrived as Emo Jimmy, with straightened hair and an eyebrow piercing.
Butler didn’t maintain these looks into the season, but he didn’t need to. The pictures players take on media day are used for promotional images throughout the season. Those pictures were effectively Butler’s image for the season in which they were taken, and it became a joke that fans looked forward to leading into every media day. What would Butler do in 2024? A mohawk? A mullet? Some internet sites even offered odds with answers as crazy as a Jimmy Neutron hairdo.
On Monday, the moment of truth finally arrived and… Butler looked like his normal self.
While fans are surely disappointed with Butler’s relatively tame choice, it makes sense why he’d take the safe route. Butler is in a contract year, as he can become a free agent next summer through a player option. Heat president Pat Riley has spoken publicly about Butler needing to be more available if he is going to get a contract extension, and while he did not expressly comment on Butler’s hair, showing up to media day looking normal is a sign that he’s all business this season. “I’m here,” Butler said. “No shenanigans.” He added that his travel plans — Butler’s flight from Paris to Miami on Monday was delayed — complicated matters.
While it isn’t quite the same, we did get at least one other fun hair decision to help us get over Butler’s more traditional look. Golden State Warriors forward Jonathan Kuminga showed up to media day with bleached blonde hair:
Perhaps the torch has been passed from one wing to the next, but either way, Butler’s decision not to continue the trend was a disappointment to fans who had come to expect it.
