There's a cruel poetry in basketball sometimes. The kind that makes you question whether the universe has a sense of humor—or just a mean streak.
Monday night at Chase Center, Jimmy Butler was cooking. Seventeen points in 21 minutes against his former team, the Miami Heat. The Warriors were rolling, on their way to a 135-112 blowout and their first four-game win streak of the season. Everything Golden State had hoped for when they traded for Butler last February was materializing in real time.
Then, at the 7:41 mark of the third quarter, Butler leaped to grab an entry pass in the paint. Davion Mitchell—who came to Miami in that very same trade—made contact. Butler landed awkwardly. His right knee twisted. And just like that, the Warriors' championship dreams collapsed on the hardwood.
The diagnosis nobody wanted to hear
ESPN's Shams Charania confirmed what everyone feared overnight: torn ACL. Season over. Butler's agent, Bernie Lee, called it "a gut punch on every level" but insisted his client would attack the rehab. "I've known for over 10 years now that Jimmy is going to win a championship before he is done," Lee told ESPN. "My belief in that is unwavering."
That championship? It won't be coming in 2026. Not with Golden State.
Steve Kerr's postgame demeanor said everything. The locker room was "subdued" and "concerned," he told reporters. There was no sugarcoating it. Butler is 36 years old. This is the same right knee that gave him a meniscus tear in 2018 and an MCL sprain in 2024. ACL recovery at his age isn't a six-month inconvenience—it's an existential question about what kind of player comes back on the other side.
The bitter irony of it all
Here's the thing that stings the most: Andrew Wiggins was sitting courtside. The man Golden State sent to Miami to acquire Butler nearly a year ago, watching his former franchise crumble. You couldn't script this if you tried.
And what about Butler himself? Even in agony, the man was lobbying for free throws. "He was still cracking jokes over there while he was on the ground," Stephen Curry said. "In true Jimmy fashion, he's always gonna have a good time no matter what the situation is."
Steph tried to keep it light, but his face told a different story. This was supposed to be the window. Butler and Curry, two alphas who figured out how to coexist, leading a late-career charge at one more ring. The Warriors had won 12 of their last 16 games. They were climbing the standings. Butler was averaging 21.3 points on 53% shooting in January—the kind of efficiency that made you believe.
Now? Eighth place in the West with a gaping hole where their second-best player used to be.
What happens next is the real story
Mike Dunleavy has sixteen days until the February 5 trade deadline, and the calculus just changed dramatically. Before Butler went down, the whispers were about Jonathan Kuminga—the 23-year-old forward who demanded a trade last week and hasn't played in 16 games. Kerr even admitted postgame that Kuminga could return to the rotation now. "Sure. Absolutely," he said.
But here's where it gets interesting. Butler is owed $54.1 million this season and $56.8 million next year. That's a lot of salary to move for a 36-year-old coming off an ACL tear. Yet that same contract could be the centerpiece of a massive trade if the Warriors decide to pivot. League sources told The Sporting News that four first-round picks could realistically land Golden State an All-Star caliber player. Giannis Antetokounmpo might be a reach, but the door isn't closed.
The question Dunleavy has to answer: does this roster, even without Butler, have enough to make a playoff push? Or is it time to start thinking about what comes after Curry?
The end of an era—or just a detour?
Butler's Instagram post said he'd "be back before you know it." That's the fighter's mentality you'd expect from a guy who went from junior college to six-time All-Star through sheer will. But the math doesn't lie. He'll be 37 when next season starts. Curry will be 38. Draymond Green turns 36 in March.
This was always a short window. It just got shorter.
The Warriors beat the Heat by 23 points on Monday. It felt like a statement. By Tuesday morning, it felt like a funeral.
Butler's season is done. Golden State's championship aspirations might be, too.