Jimmy Butler Says Teammates Don't Like When He Plays Taylor Swift During Warmups

Jimmy Butler is coming into his own as a leader of the Chicago Bulls, taking up the flag during Derrick Rose’s absences and developing into a scary inevitability on both ends of the floor.

With leadership comes perks, of course, and Butler is making use of his growing role in the franchise, much to the detriment of his teammates’ eardrums.

In an interview with ProBasketballTalk.com’s Kurt Helin, Butler admitted to blasting liberal amounts of country music and Taylor Swift when given control of the music for team warmups.

“I get my own playlist in warmups sometimes,” Butler said. “My teammates don’t like it very much because it’s country music, but they get over it.” 

Country music? Yeah, country music. And not just any country music—hybrid-pop Taylor Swift country music. 

“I like Taylor Swift,” Butler said. “I like music a whole, but her music is kinda catchy...I try to listen to people I’ve gained relationships with over the years, so whether it’s Ludacris or Lee Brice or Jason Aldean, whoever it is I try to support them just like they support me.” 

If you’re having difficulty imagining what it looks like when a grown man vibes out to Taylor Swift in an NBA locker room, let’s revisit this gem from early 2014, courtesy of Bulls center Nazr Mohammed: 

No problems here. Just a then-24-year-old Jimmy Butler turning up to acoustic-led jams about hipsters and falling in love with strangers.

Let Jimmy live, guys. And don’t act like you haven’t sent some scorching hot Taylor Swift or Carly Rae Jepsen through that aux cable of yours. I see through your lies.

Dan is on Twitter. He doesn’t like country, but he will bump the hell out of some Bruno Mars between Wu-Tang sets.