The Warriors didn’t just beat the Mavericks on Sunday—they ran them off the floor with a 126-102 win. That puts them at 30-27, but let’s be real, the biggest shift hasn’t been in the standings. It’s the energy around this team, and Jimmy Butler has everything to do with it. Since Butler joined, Golden State has gone 5-1, and Steve Kerr can feel the difference.
His numbers? Solid—20 points and 5.5 assists per game. But stats don’t tell the full story. The Warriors looked stuck in neutral before he arrived. Butler’s intensity, leadership, and sheer will to win have breathed new life into a team that desperately needed it. The situation has prompted even the rumored ex of the six-time All-Star to talk about him.
Rachel Nichols didn’t hold back when discussing Jimmy Butler’s arrival in Golden State, acknowledging his history of wearing out his welcome but emphasizing what the Warriors are hoping for with this move. We all know he stirred up drama with the Heat, Bulls, and Wolves, and he always leaves by burning bridges.
“As you said, every single place he has been, he has worn out his welcome. Now what Golden State is banking on is this is the end,” Nichols said on The Herd With Colin Cowherd. “They’ve got the contract that he’s going to have for the next couple years. He agreed to it—by the time that deal is done, he’ll be 37 years old. So they are guaranteed, they’re sort of betting on the fact that there won’t be some big, crazy, blow-up, acrimonious ending.”
She highlighted the role Butler plays in easing the burden on Stephen Curry, especially following Klay Thompson’s departure.
“In the meantime, he is giving Steph Curry an ending to his Golden State time that is competitive and at the same time interesting, and they’re on the same timeline,” Nichols said.
Nichols made it clear—Butler’s presence is already shifting the Warriors’ dynamic. But while his impact on the team’s energy and chemistry is undeniable, there’s still one part of his game that hasn’t fully clicked yet: his shooting.
Right now, Butler isn’t trusting his jumper. He’s getting to his spots, but that mid-range game, the one that made him so dangerous in Miami, hasn’t been there consistently. He has taken a few shots and even knocked one down in the latest game, but everyone can tell he is still experimenting with his shot. He rarely attempts three-pointers, and when he does, his pull-ups come off like line drives rather than the smooth, confident shots he used to hit.
It feels like he will eventually get the confidence to hit jumpers, because with Jimmy one thing’s for sure, he puts in a lot of work. So with him in the mix now, how will the Warriors fare?
Can the Warriors win another chip with Jimmy Butler on the roster now?
Bill Simmons was all in on the Warriors trading for Jimmy Butler from day one, and now, after six games, he’s doubling down. On The Bill Simmons Podcast with Ryen Russillo, he couldn’t stop raving about Butler’s energy and how stars just seem to thrive next to Steph Curry.
“I don’t know what it is about Steph,” Simmons said. “It just seems like everybody that passes through Steph’s life, they turn into Gandhi for like the first three weeks.” Butler, he added, looks completely locked in. The proof? A viral clip of him drawing up plays in the huddle. “This is a guy who was just sitting next to the water cooler the last three months of the Miami season,” Simmons pointed out. “And now he’s like, ‘Draymond, come here, I have an idea for a high screen.’”
Draymond Green sees it too. After just four games with Butler, he went on TNT and guaranteed a championship. He told The Athletic that Golden State had been missing something all year—and now, that piece is in place. Even Butler agrees. “We really think, and we really know, that every time we take the floor, we should win,” he said.
Simmons compared Butler’s arrival to Randy Moss joining the 2007 Patriots and he had a resurgence helping the Patriots to a 16-0 record. If he’s right, the Warriors might be scary again.
