SAN FRANCISCO — Golden State Warriors wing Jimmy Butler suffered a season-ending torn right ACL in Monday night’s 135-112 win over the Miami Heat, sources told ESPN’s Shams Charania, effectively throwing the future direction of the franchise into question.
Butler’s injury came at the 7:41 mark of the third quarter. He leaped to grab an entry pass in the middle of the paint and collided with Heat guard Davion Mitchell, and his right knee appeared to twist on the landing, sending him sprawling to the court in agony.
Butler remained down for a couple of minutes as his teammates surrounded him in a stunned Chase Center. He was eventually pulled to his feet and slowly helped to the locker room, unable to put weight on his right leg while he laughed with nearby officials that he was owed two 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.”
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As he reached the bench area, teammates Buddy Hield and Jonathan Kuminga draped Butler’s arms over their shoulders and helped him down the tunnel to a wheelchair near the locker room entrance.
He left the arena to get an MRI on his right knee, which confirmed the ACL tear, sources told ESPN, a devastating blow for a team that Warriors coach Steve Kerr described as “concerned” and “subdued” while awaiting news about one of its leaders.
The injury comes at a particularly demoralizing time for the surging Warriors. They have won 12 of their past 16 games, beginning a climb back up the standings, due in part to Butler’s recent performance.
Butler, 35, entered Monday averaging 21.3 points on 53% shooting in January. He had 17 points in 21 minutes against his former team before the injury, which will alter the late stages of his career.
Butler was traded from the Heat to the Warriors last February, agreeing to a two-year, $111 million extension to get the deal over the finish line.
In his first few weeks with the Warriors, Butler transformed them from a lottery afterthought to a playoff threat, helping lift them into the second round in May. It generated some internal belief that they still had enough gas for a final stretch of contention in the Curry era.
Despite some team-wide inconsistencies this season, Butler has been steady and productive as Curry’s co-star, averaging 20.0 points, 5.6 rebounds and 4.9 assists, appearing in 38 of the team’s 44 games and raising his game during this recent 12-4 stretch.
But Butler’s presence is now lost, and the Warriors, already searching for reinforcements prior to the Feb. 5 trade deadline, will need to reassess where everything stands for this aging core. Butler is making $54.1 million this season and $56.8 million next season, the final year of his deal.
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