Why Jimmy Butler Makes Warriors a Title Contender Again

Although ending with the same free-throw shooting percentage against the Lakers, Butler (16-for-16) technically outshot Curry (8-for-8). How about through an 82-game season, though?

“No chance,” Curry said. “But I like a little game within the game. So game on.”

Here’s a bet that both Butler and his teammates will readily make: the Warriors will become a strong playoff contender because of Butler.

Yes, the Warriors (1-0) enter Thursday’s home opener against the Denver Nuggets (0-0) as a dark-horse candidate to win the NBA title also because of Curry’s shooting, Green’s defense and Steve Kerr’s coaching. But consider how dramatically different the Warriors looked before and after acquiring Butler from the Miami Heat before last season’s trade deadline.

Before the deal? The Warriors were tied for 10th place in the Western Conference with a 25-26 record. They ranked 27th in the NBA in free-throw attempts per game (20.4). They fared 20th in total offense (111.5 points per game) and 10th in defensive rating (112.2).

After the trade? The Warriors went 23-8 and finished in seventh place after winning their first game in the NBA’s play-in tournament. The Warriors climbed to third in free throws (24.9 per game) and first in steals (10.7 per game). Butler freed up Curry by assuming ball-handling duties, and Butler also helped Green defensively by guarding the opposing team’s top perimeter player.

Jimmy Butler 2024-25 stats

“Jimmy brings a different level of confidence to Draymond and Steph,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. “They know now they’ve got a guy that can carry the team every single night. That gives them a comfort level and confidence level that maybe had been missing before the trade.”

Butler reminded the Warriors what they have to open the 2025-26 season.

The 6-foot-6 Butler punished the Lakers’ smaller lineup that often featured 6-2 guard Gabe Vincent guarding him in the post. Although Lakers star Luka Dončić scored nine of his 43 points on Butler, Butler helped his teammates focus on limiting everyone else defensively. Butler perfected his role so well that Green already predicted that “he’ll be an All-Star again this year.”

“The game’s easy. Everybody pays attention to Steph,” Butler said. “I got the easy job. And when you don’t pass the ball to him, you pass it to the open man. You attack. You guard. And you play basketball the right way.”

Butler played the right way Tuesday because he also relied on his brute strength to dominate opponents, his strong footwork to throw off defenders and body positioning to draw fouls. Butler rewarded Curry with open looks, while he enjoyed more space to move without the ball. Butler advised Green on how to limit his turnovers and fifth-year forward Jonathan Kuminga on how to play aggressively.

“Whatever the possession calls for, he sees the floor so well,” Curry said of Butler. “He’s composed when he has the ball in his hands. You can’t really speed him up. And I think he understands what it takes to win. He doesn’t care what it looks like. Just try to get the job done.”

To help the Warriors get the job done, Butler organized an informal get-together with teammates in San Diego before training camp started. Then, Butler hosted his teammates with wine, his signature coffee and competitive games on and off the court.  

“The highlight for me was watching Steph and myself beat up on everybody in dominoes,” Butler said. “It’s funny. But he caught on real quick, and he got mad if we lost. Then we started whooping everybody.”

Not so fast. Green contended that Butler “can’t beat me in dominoes.”

“He has beaten me in dominoes,” Butler conceded. “Steph misses shots. That doesn’t mean he’s not the greatest shooter ever!”

Just because Butler and Green disagree about their dominoes results doesn’t mean they have experienced any serious tension, though. Jokingly, Green said he gets along with Butler because of his elaborate wine collection. In all seriousness, Green said he gets along with Butler because they both value a player’s work ethic, intensity and teamwork.

“I have the utmost respect for the ultimate competitor. I have the utmost respect for alphas,” Green said. “He’s an alpha. There was kind of this misconception that ‘Draymond is an alpha. Him and Jimmy are going to clash.’ But I’ve never really seen two alphas clash, because there’s a respect for knowing how you are, what you are and how you go about things.”

Former Lakers star Shaquille O’Neal and the late Kobe Bryant famously clashed as alpha personalities. But Green considered their dynamic completely different. O’Neal and Bryant fought over who would become the No. 1 option. While O’Neal bristled at Bryant’s high-volume shooting, Bryant disliked O’Neal’s training habits.

Neither Butler nor Green are high-volume shooters. Neither Butler nor Green have ever cared who leads a franchise. Instead, they both express their emotions with passion and honesty. Green won four NBA championships in Golden State with his defensive versatility, and Butler led the Heat to two Finals appearances with his clutch shot-making, timely passes and defensive intensity.

“Everybody just thinks that I’m a complete idiot and I’m going to get into it with everybody. That’s fine,” Green said, “But he’s one of the better teammates that I’ve had, no question. He’s the ultimate team guy. You look at those Miami teams and why they were able to win the way they were. He was uplifting so many guys that may not necessarily be exactly who they looked like in the position next to him. But when you have a leader like that that is capable of creating any shot for you and uplifting you and making you believe you can do more than you can, that’s the result of it. So it’s been fun having him as a teammate. The chemistry is great.”

Hence, the importance for Butler to host his teammates in San Diego. He impacted the Warriors immediately following the trade deadline. But he didn’t have much time to actually settle into his own surroundings amid the Warriors’ late-season playoff push. This setting became more relaxed than during last season’s flights in between practices and games.

“It was about getting everybody together and to have some fun,” Butler said. “This season is not going to be all high. It’s not going to be all low, either. But if we do hit a low moment, it will be like, ‘It’s not all bad. Let’s take it back when we were in San Diego kicking it, drinking some wine, hooping and having a good time.’”

Incidentally, Kuminga didn’t attend that minicamp amid stalled contract negotiations with the Warriors. No matter. Butler understood Kuminga’s frustrations partly because Butler had experienced them already.

Butler requested for the Heat to trade him last season partly because the franchise declined to grant him a contract extension when he was first eligible the previous fall, amid concerns about his durability. While the Warriors had mixed feelings about Kuminga’s potential, Kuminga harbored frustrations about his inconsistent role.

“You just let people talk; let your game speak for itself, which it has. Everybody will forget about it sooner than later,” Butler said. “‘You weren’t in the wrong. You were doing what was best for you.’ We’re not mad at that. I’ve been in that before, along with countless other people probably on this roster and around the league. That’s behind everybody now. So now he’s part of that. I got one goal in mind, and that’s to win a championship.”

Since then, Kerr and Butler’s teammates observed that Butler talks to Kuminga frequently before, during and after practices. Earlier this week, Butler also asked to play Kuminga one-on-one once after practice ended. In the Warriors’ season opener, Butler often gave Kuminga a mix of positive reinforcement and constructive feedback.

“Any time that I interact with him, I’m just trying to pick his brain,” Kuminga said. “In this league, he’s one of the people that actually has been in my shoes throughout my career and knows what I have been going through.”

After the Bulls drafted Butler at No. 30 in the 2011 draft, he eventually morphed into a six-time All-Star partly because he sought mentors, including Luol Deng, Derrick Rose, Kirk Hinrich and Ronnie Brewer. Butler now considers it his responsibility to help young players just as those mentors helped him.

Butler’s tactics haven’t always worked. He infamously clashed with former Minnesota teammate Karl-Anthony Towns and former Sixers teammate Ben Simmons over their mental toughness. Since Kuminga re-signed with the Warriors, his teammates have praised him for embracing his role as a rebounder and defender.

“I just want to help JK be great,” Butler said. “He’s got so much raw talent, and he’s so aggressive, he’s athletic and is super smart. I’m trying to teach him a little bit of what I see throughout the game. We’ve been kicking it, hanging out, watching film and just working on our game together after practice, during practice, before practice. I know how great he wants to be, and I know how great he can be. So it’s now my job to help him fulfill that.”

And to think, Butler sparked concerns about his future only eight months ago during the end of his divorce with Miami. Beyond being upset with extension talks, Butler said he “lost his joy” with a reduced role. The Heat also issued Butler three multigame suspensions for missing a team flight and for leaving a shootaround early after learning he lost his starting job.

With the Warriors? It helps that they granted Butler a two-year, $121 million extension after the trade and that he plays with a generational talent in Curry through the 2026-27 season. Regardless, Kerr called Butler “a dream to coach” because of his strong work habits and communication.

“He’s been a great leader since the day he showed up. We all heard the talk about him last year, and that’s not the guy that showed up to San Francisco,” Green said. “The guy who showed up to San Francisco was the guy we saw [against the Lakers]: great leader, encouraging teammates, telling guys what he sees, making corrections, settling our team down and getting us good shots.”

The Warriors are betting Butler will fulfill that role consistently through an 82-game season and an extended playoff run. Butler will eventually find out whether that’s enough to help the Warriors win another NBA title and outperform Curry at the free-throw line.