Shaquille O’Neal Dresses as ‘Emo’ Jimmy Butler for Halloween — And the Joke Goes Right Over Charles Barkley’s Head

Ahmad Austin Jr.Nov 1st, 2023, 4:22 pm
 

Former NBA player Shaquille O’Neal stole the show on TNT’s Inside the NBA with his costume inspired by Jimmy Butler’s most recent media day look.

While most of the set enjoyed the look, Charles Barkley had no idea what they were talking about.

The crew began Tuesday night’s pregame show sporting a wide variety of costumes. Kenny Smith came dressed as a pilot from the movie Top Gun, which was especially fitting since his nickname from his playing days is “The Jet.”

Ernie Johnson wore a tuxedo while holding a plush cat like Vito Corleone from The Godfather. Barkley, wearing a hat and holding a steering wheel, was simply a bus driver — alluding to the time he claimed Kevin Durant wasn’t the “bus driver” of the Golden State Warriors when they won their NBA championships.

Then came O’Neal in a black t-shirt, black wig, and several facial piercings.

“You would be…?” Johnson asked O’Neal, who told him it was Butler.

The look was a reference to Butler’s headline-grabbing look at the Miami Heat’s media day. A few weeks ahead of the start of the regular season, Butler arrived at media day with a similar look. It became known on the internet as “Emo Jimmy Butler,” and he fully committed to the bit by telling the media it was a reflection of his emotional state.

Despite the look going viral, Barkley didn’t get the joke at all. In fact, he joked that O’Neal looked more like “Jenny Butler.”

When Smith told O’Neal it “wasn’t bad” and a “pretty good” costume, Barkley pushed back.

“When is an ugly woman not bad?” Barkley asked.

Smith tried to clarify with no luck.

“He’s not a woman,” Smith said. “He’s Jimmy Butler!”

Johnson also took a crack at getting through to Barkley. It didn’t work.

“Plays for the Heat,” Johnson told him. “Jimmy Butler.”

Unsurprisingly, the costume idea was a popular one this year. A number of celebrities posted their best Emo Jimmy Butler looks on social media, including WWE star Xavier Woods.

Watch above via TNT

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