On Monday night during MLK Day, the Golden State Warriors hosted Miami Heat in a meeting of familiar faces after the two teams pulled off a blockbuster trade at the deadline last year. Jimmy Butler was set to face his old team once more, with the Warriors welcoming back a friendly face in Andrew Wiggins, and he looked motivated — scoring 17 points in just 21 minutes in a close game between the two sides.
However, Butler’s night appears to be done after he suffered an ugly leg injury that had him wincing on the floor for a good minute or two. In the third quarter, the Warriors forward fell down hard and looked as though he had hyperextended his knee after trying to catch a floated pass towards the paint from Brandin Podziemski.
Jimmy Butler had to be assisted to the locker room after appearing to hurt his knee.
Hope he's okay
pic.twitter.com/BG0NOCmZsy
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) January 20, 2026
Butler was clutching onto his right knee and was grimacing while writhing in pain on the hardwood. This is not a good development whatsoever for a Warriors team that badly needs the 36-year-old to be healthy if they were to be much of a threat in the Western Conference.
Considering how severe the injury looks at first glance, Butler will not be returning to tonight’s contest against the Heat, as per the Warriors. Further testing will be done on the veteran forward to determine the true severity of the injury he sustained.
Warriors to act with more urgency on trade market after Jimmy Butler injury?
A hyperextended knee could mean a lot of things — none of them good for Butler and the Warriors. There is no diagnosis yet for what the injury Butler sustained actually is, but at first look, it looks like that’s exactly what he suffered. That injury is no joke and would require quite some time to recover from.
This could mean then that the Warriors would act with more urgency on the trade market, dealing Jonathan Kuminga for more help, to try and cover for Butler’s potential absence.
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