Steph Curry instantly reacts after Jimmy Butler’s devastating injury rocks Warriors’ season

Jimmy Butler’s 15th season in the NBA is over.

The Golden State Warriors welcomed Butler’s former team Miami Heat to the Chase Center on Monday night, defeating them 135-112.

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But the Warriors’ victory was vastly overshadowed by a devastating knee injury to Butler.

At the 7:41 mark in the third quarter, the 36-year-old leaped up to grab an entry pass in the middle of the paint, but collided with Heat guard Davion Mitchell.

As he landed back on the hardwood, his right knee appeared to twist awkwardly, which saw him lying down on the court writhing in pain.

Despite the immense pain he was suffering, Warriors superstar Stephen Curry revealed that his teammate was still trying to remain positive.

“It was kind of funny,” Curry said, via The Athletic’s Nick Friedell. “He was still cracking jokes over there while he was on the ground in true Jimmy fashion.

“Always going to have a good time no matter what the situation is. I do love that perspective and that part of his personality. Even in the worst of a moment, he was still having a good time.”

After a few minutes down on the deck as the athletic trainers attended to him, Butler’s Golden State teammates Buddy Hield and Jonathan Kuminga helped him onto his feet and down the tunnel where a wheelchair was waiting for him.

“His spirit leaving the court was great,” Hield said postgame.

“So we know that whatever’s to come he’s going to attack it and he’s gonna get back out there quickly.

The six-time NBA All-Star finished the contest with 17 points on 6-of-11 shooting, four assists and two steals in 21 minutes.

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True extent of Butler’s injury revealed

After the game, in which Curry recorded a 19 point, 11 assists double-double, the NBA’s greatest ever three-point shooter reacted to his teammate’s injury further.

“I haven’t talked to him since the game, but you never like to see a situation like that, especially somebody as tough as he is,” Curry said postgame.

“Praying for the best, obviously with scans and all that. Hopefully, he is alright.”

Warriors head coach Steve Kerr spoke of just how concerned the entire team was about the extent of Butler’s injury.

“We’re all concerned,” Kerr said, via ESPN’s Anthony Slater.  “Subdued. Waiting to hear the news.”

Just hours later, it was revealed by ESPN’s Shams Charania that the Warriors forward had suffered a torn ACL in a devastating turn of events for Golden State.

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Having started the season with a 16-16 record through the first 32 outings of the 2025-26 season, the Warriors had begun to find their rhythm, going 9-3 – including the win over the Heat on Monday – in their last 12 games.

In that stretch, Butler had averaged 21.0 points per contest on an efficient 53.2 percent shooting from the field, along with 5.4 rebounds, 4.8 assists and a team-high 1.6 steals.

When Butler was on the court, the Warriors outscored their opponents by 11.0 points per 100 possessions compared to only outscoring their opponents by 2.1 points when he was off the court – the third-lowest mark on the team.

With the 15-year veteran now ruled out for the remainder of the season, the Warriors now have to weigh up where they go from here, with just weeks to go before the trade deadline.

Of late, the Warriors had climbed up the Western Conference standings to within just one-and-a-half games of the Los Angeles Lakers for the sixth – and final – automatic playoff berth.

Now, it remains to be seen whether the Warriors will be forced into moving some of their assets, potentially like that of Kuminga, at the deadline in an attempt to bring in reinforcements to keep Curry’s dwindling championship window alive.

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