Oct 8, 2025; San Francisco, California, USA; Golden State Warriors forward Jimmy Butler III (10) reacts towards forward Jonathan Kuminga (1) during the second quarter against the Portland Trail Blazers at Chase Center. Mandatory Credit: John Hefti-Imagn Images John Hefti-Imagn Images

Latest Jimmy Butler, Jonathan Kuminga News Should Excite Warriors Fans vs Lakers

Originally posted on Golden State Warriors on SI
By Liam Willerup | Last updated Oct 20, 2025 4:04 PM ET

The Golden State Warriors will open their season against the Los Angeles Lakers, but fans won't get to see Steph Curry vs LeBron James due to the NBA's all-time leading scorer being sidelined to begin the season with sciatica. However, there will still be plenty of stars active, and should be an entertaining game to end off the NBA's opening night.

While James is the most notable name set to be sidelined for Tuesday's contest, there are still several other players battling injuries with their statuses up in the air as the game approaches. Golden State's Moses Moody has been ruled out, but both Jimmy Butler and Jonathan Kuminga just received status changes that should excite Warriors fans.

Steve Kerr: “I expect both to play.”

Jimmy Butler and Jonathan Kuminga have already been upgraded to probable for tomorrow night’s Warriors season opener @NBCSWarriors
— Dalton Johnson (@DaltonJ_Johnson) October 20, 2025

According to Dalton Johnson of NBC Sports Bay Area, Steve Kerr informed the media that he expects both Butler and Kuminga to play for Tuesday's season opener against the Lakers. The two players will now carry a probable tag on their status, a major plus for Golden State to have two of their top forwards.

How Do Kuminga and Butler Impact This Game?

Jonathan Kuminga's one on one metrics pic.twitter.com/phcLOxh0Cf
— BBall Index (@The_BBall_Index) October 18, 2025

Golden State has plenty of depth at the guard positions, but they are rather thin when it comes to the true forwards on their roster. Outside of Draymond Green, Gui Santos is the only other true forward on this roster.

While Kuminga and Butler likely won't see a ton of time out on the floor with each other, Golden State will likely have one of them on the floor for a majority of the game, if not all of it.

Given neither Kuminga or Butler is a consistent jump shooter, they'll be looking to score at the basket whenever they can. Going up against the Lakers and Deandre Ayton at center, Golden State should be able to exploit him by catching him in bad positions and attacking in transition. With Al Horford and Quentin Post opening things up as stretch bigs, both players could have strong scoring outputs.

Assuming he's healthy, Jimmy Butler... pic.twitter.com/D1SmnauuNe
— The Sage (@TheBBallSage) October 20, 2025

The Lakers do have some intriguing options at forward with Rui Hachimura, Jake LaRavia, and Jarred Vanderbilt, but Butler and Kuminga still take the edge in talent with James sidelined. This could very well end up being a guard-dominant game with Steph Curry going back-and-forth with Luka Doncic, with the X-factor being the play of the forwards.

Tip-off for Golden State's season opener on Tuesday is set for 10:00 p.m. EST, following the conclusion of Rockets-Thunder to open the night.

This article first appeared on Golden State Warriors on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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