SAN FRANCISCO– It will be a long night for everyone involved with the Golden State Warriors as the team awaits a concrete injury update on Jimmy Butler. Golden State Warriors star forward left midway through the third quarter of their matchup with the Miami Heat with a right knee injury after landing awkwardly on that leg.
Butler went up to catch a pass, and when he came down, his knee tweaked inward, to which he immediately reacted to in pain and fell to the hardwood. A quiet, crestfallen Chase Center crowd watched the Warriors players huddle over Butler as he writhed in agony on the ground. Butler was helped into the locker room by Buddy Hield, Gary Payton II, and Jonathan Kuminga, with the 36-year-old unable to put any weight on his right leg before play resumed.
After the game, Steve Kerr said Butler is undergoing an MRI, with the team waiting with bated breath for the results.
“We’re all really concerned, but we’ll know more after the MRI,” Kerr said. “Everybody is subdued because of the injury– waiting to hear the news.”
Butler has had a history of injuries on that same knee– a torn meniscus back in 2018, which cost him 17 games that season, and an MCL sprain in 2024 right before the playoffs, ending his season after the Celtics beat the Heat in five.
“You never like to see a situation like that, especially somebody as tough as he is,” Stephen Curry said post-game. “Praying for the best, obviously, with scans and all that, and we’ll figure it out. But hopefully he’s alright.”
According to ClutchPoints’ NBA insider Brett Siegel, sources inside the organization declined to comment on Butler’s injury.
The players’ perspective of Butler’s injury from on the court
Despite the scariness of the injury, Butler seemed to be in good spirits immediately after going down.
“It’s kind of funny, he was still cracking jokes over there while he was on the ground,” Curry explained. “The ground in true Jimmy fashion. Always knows how to have a good time no matter what the situation is. I do love that perspective and that part of his personality, even the worst moment, he was still having a good time. He was trying to get to the free-throw line. He said it was two shots.”
Hield, who helped Butler into the tunnel, where he was then wheeled off in a wheelchair, said “Jimmy was being Jimmy,” maintaining high spirits during his long walk into the locker room. Hield expressed positive vibes and hope for Butler in his post-game presser.
“I think he’s gonna be fine,” Hield said. “We can’t be talking like that right now; we gotta keep his spirits up, you know? We don’t think negative around here. And whatever is to come, he’s gonna attack it.”
After Butler went down, the Warriors responded with a 12-0 run to take a sizeable lead on the Heat. And thanks to Brandin Podziemski’s hot shooting, collecting a team-high 24 points, the Warriors walked out of the game with their 12th win in 16 games.
Buddy Hield on Jimmy Butler and team’s spirits in the wake of his knee injury as he undergoes an MRI:
“I know he was in great spirits on the court when he was walking off. Our hope is it’s on the low end of things, nothing too serious.”
Hield helped him walk into the tunnel. pic.twitter.com/bdGysiEMMD
— Kenzo Fukuda (@kenzofuku) January 20, 2026
What Butler’s injury means for the Warriors now and in the long term
Butler’s injury obviously casts a gigantic shadow over the Warriors’ season at large. In 38 games this season, Butler has averaged 20.0 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 4.9 assists on 51.9% shooting and a team high +185 cumulative. plus/minus. Next to Curry, he has been the engine that drives the bus in Golden State– especially whenever Curry rests or isn’t playing.
“He’s an alpha, you know?” Kerr said. “He’s one of those guys in the league who everybody else in the gym knows that’s the guy. And he has that presence, but he also has that game where we can play through him, possession after possession. And so yeah, assuming we’ll be without him for a little bit– we’re going to miss him.”
There’s hope Gui Santos will be able to return from the ankle sprain that sidelined him the last two games. And they’ll get reinforcements with De’Anthony Melton and Draymond Green likely to return to the lineup in the next game. Kerr even said Jonathan Kuminga may get some run, despite the young forward banished in DNP-CD purgatory right now.
But this Warriors’ season falls into jeopardy if Butler’s injury is a worst-case scenario. Their quest to get one last ring, an already Herculean task, becomes just about an impossibility. And even if Butler’s injury isn’t as severe as feared, just the quest to remain relevant will become an uphill trial in and of itself.
For now, all the Warriors can do is wait. Wait, hope, and pray.
“Of course, you guys want to know what happened to Jimmy, but I can’t tell you; he’s getting an MRI right now,” Hield said. We don’t know what the results will come out. Hopefully, it’s nothing serious, like I said earlier, but praying for the best, not for the worst.”
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