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It was the Butler, in the kitchen, eating crickets. That is the theory floating around as to why Miami Heat forward Jimmy Butler missed a game against the Chicago Bulls on Tuesday night. The team said Butler was not available due to a gastrointestinal illness.Butler had recently talked about how he ate crickets during the Heat’s trip to Mexico earlier this month for the NBA Mexico City Global Games — the league’ first regular season trip to Mexico since 2019. The Heat took home a 111-101 victory and Butler was a solid contributor with 26 points, five rebounds, four assists, two steals and one block. That was not an easy thing to accomplish due to the high altitude of Mexico City. During his postgame press conference, Butler said he loves playing all over the world and trying the local cuisine. He also jokingly credited eating crickets for his strong performance. “I had crickets, and it wasn’t bad, it wasn’t bad. I’m not gonna say I’m going to line up and eat 1,000 crickets but I definitely had that,” Butler said. “Next time I come back I’m going to eat even more crickets so I won’t get tired because of the altitude.”
Some fans were not exactly sure if being an adventurous eater was the right decision. One Twitter user compared him to the late Anthony Bourdain, a celebrity chef and travel documentarian.
That game took place on Dec. 17, and the Bulls game Butler missed was on the 20th, so it’s unclear how accurate the literal stomach bug theory is, but that won’t stop fans from having fun with it on social media. When talking about crickets, Butler was likely referring to “Chapulines,” which are grasshoppers toasted on a comal. They are a Mexican delicacy that might sound strange, but taste similar to salt and vinegar potato chips.
Next up for the Heat is a home game against the Indiana Pacers on Friday at 8 p.m. ET.