Unsuspecting people are getting calls meant for Jimmy Butler after he gave out his phone number
Dial carefully!
During a press conference on Thursday, newly-traded Timberwolves star Jimmy Butler gave out his phone number to anyone who cared to give him a call.
Timberwolves' Jimmy Butler gives out his phone number at intro press conference and encourages critics to call him directly pic.twitter.com/gLxYVJWvx1
— Ben Golliver (@BenGolliver) June 29, 2017
And people did care — quickly, Butler’s voicemail filled up and, as of now, the number appears to be disconnected. It was a great move, the perfect amount of shade towards his critics and a hilarious way to spice up a press conference.
But for one Illinois man, it did have an unintended consequence — Michael Byrne has a phone number just one digit off from Butlers, and over the course of the day he’s received over 100 voicemails and 150 texts.
“At first I heard my phone going off a bunch. When I checked it, I already had 37 missed calls,” he told NBC 5 Chicago. “I got calls from Arkansas, Florida, New York City, and all over the country. I got voice mails and text messages all saying how much they supported me.”
So while Jimmy Butler spent his day casually taking FaceTime calls while flying on a plane and sipping red wine...
Jimmy Butler ACTUALLY took some calls after giving out his number
— SB Nation (@SBNation) June 29, 2017
: jimmybutler / IG pic.twitter.com/ayJibd6cXp
...other, similarly phone-numbered folks are having their phones blow up. In fact, Byrne isn’t the only person to have this problem — Adonis Dees, an intern at FanRag Sports, has also been receiving texts like these from people who think he is the great Jimmy Buckets.
Yo, someone tell @JimmyButler to stop giving out my number ♂️ pic.twitter.com/XVblM6HyVv
— Adonis G. Buckets (@adonis_dees) June 29, 2017
At least Dees has the time to respond!
Byrne, on the other hand, told NBC 5 Washington he can’t even turn off his phone because he’s waiting to hear back from employers as he looks for a new job. All-in-all, however, he seems to be in high spirits about the whole thing:
“I would just tell him that his fans need to dial more carefully,” he said.
Definitely good advice.

