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Miami Heat star Kyle Lowry (L) gets brutally honest about teammate Jimmy Butler (R)’s new haircut.
Miami Heat point guard Kyle Lowry isn’t just Jimmy Butler’s teammates, the two are best friends. So when the six-time All-Star discussed Butler’s new extensions during an interview on ESPN’s The VC show with Vince Carter, he was able to give his brutally honest opinion about the drastically new long-haired look like few others would be brave enough to do.
When Carter, a former eight-time NBA All-Star, says he’s heard of the braids but hasn’t seen them, Lowry’s face gives a warning that says it all. “My husband, my dawg, my brother,” Lowry says of Butler, before giving his true feelings about the haircut. “I spoke to him on FaceTime on Tuesday and I was like, ‘What the f***?! Do you have dreads?’”
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While the 36-year-old point guard clearly didn’t feel the look, Butler remained unfazed. “It’s on fire, dude,” he said,” Lowry told Carter. “I said, ‘Bro, come on.’ But if anyone knows Jimmy, Jimmy is going to do what Jimmy wants to do,” compared to Eddie Murphy’s portrayal of James Early in the 2006 film, Dream women. “Jimmy has SOUL!” says Lowry.
After Carter takes a look at Butler’s hair himself, the former NBA star looks completely shocked and Lowry can’t stop laughing.
Lowry also went viral for debuting a transformative new look this summer
While Butler reinvented his hairstyle this summer, Lowry recently underwent a transformation of his own. The veteran appeared overweight and out of shape during the postseason, which Heat president Pat Riley addressed at his annual end-of-season press conference.
“It comes down to me and to me that you hope you can get the most out of a player – that you have to be in world-class form. You just have to be,” Riley said on June 6, almost as a warning to Lowry, while also noting, “I think he could be in better shape next year.”
This sentiment was echoed by an Eastern Conference executive during a conversation with Heavy.com’s Sean Deveney during Summer League in Las Vegas. “It’s easy to pile on him because of his conditioning, but that’s never been Kyle Lowry. He’s a pro,” said the exec. “He was injured and that affected his ability to get into the form he wanted to be in. I think everyone knows, including the Heat, they just want to push him a little bit harder. He’s older, he’s got a ring, you have to make sure he is still hungry.”
“The things Riley said about conditioning, that’s what it’s all about,” he added. “Motivation, keeping that motivation going.”
Being called out in person by “The Godfather” must have been motivational enough as recent photos and videos of Lowry training show him looking absolutely insane.
While Lowry rarely posts on his personal Instagram and Twitter pages, videos of his workouts with NBA coach Travis Wallace have gone viral on both social media apps.
Heat Nation was elated to see Lowry doing the job. A popular fan account tweeted“The league isn’t ready for a ripped Kyle Lowry .”
Lowry lies amid trade reports
GettyKyle Lowry #7 of the Miami Heat shoots a three-point basket against the Boston Celtics during the first quarter of Game Five of the 2022 NBA Playoffs Eastern Conference Finals at the FTX Arena on May 25, 2022 in Miami, Florida.
While the Heat has been heavily linked with landing Brooklyn Nets superstar Kevin Durant this offseason, Lowry has kept him in check amid the flurry of reports. NBA insider Brandon “Scoop B” Robinson of Bally Sports cited the veteran’s name as a key part of the Heat’s potential trade package to land Durant or Kyrie Irving during a performance on the wheelhouse earlier this month, but the former Raptors star will most likely stay put.
It’s hard to imagine Butler would be okay with Lowry, his only daughter’s godfather, being sent away after working so hard to get him to South Beach in the first place.
Lowry, who signed an $85 million three-year contract with the Heat last summer, was one of the main reasons Miami entered the playoffs as the No. 1 seed in the East, and while he fell apart in the postseason, didn’t. Able to get through a nagging hamstring injury, Lowry probably won’t be going anywhere next season unless Butler leaves with him, the latter of which appears to be off the table altogether.
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