Jimmy Butler Opens Up About Letting Steph Curry Down Last Season

Most people would not connect guilt with forward Jimmy Butler, but guilt is what he described when he looked back at the night his season ended.

Butler tore the ACL in his right knee in a Monday, Jan. 19 home game against the Miami Heat, and the Golden State Warriors fell apart after that.

Golden State was 25-19 after that game and went 12-26 the rest of the way, finishing 37-45 and missing the playoffs.

Guard Stephen Curry was also out for two months with a knee issue, so the team spent long stretches without both of its stars.

During training camp in Hawaii, Butler sat down for a long talk about his injury and rehab with ESPN's Anthony Slater and did not try to hide from how he felt.

In that talk, Butler said, "I really felt like I let Steph down. I let Draymond down. I let Steve down. Because they took a chance."

Butler also told ESPN that he wants to help those guys win another title and get one for himself, and said that as he starts to move, run and jump again in rehab, he feels he can still do it.

The Warriors took that chance when they traded for Butler in February 2025, and it paid off right away as they went 23-8 to close that season, upset the Houston Rockets in the first round and still believe they could have gone further if Curry had not hurt his hamstring.

ESPN reported that Curry was skeptical of the deal at first, but Butler won over Curry, forward Draymond Green and head coach Steve Kerr, and how much Green still means to this group is a good reminder of why that core wants one more run.

I like that Butler is not making excuses, because nobody can blame him for a torn ACL and he still sees it as letting down the people who believed in him.

The Warriors want their young players to see that attitude.

Kerr told ESPN that the moment Butler went down, he knew the team's title hopes were gone, and he has already thrown out February as a rough guess for when Butler could be back.

Team sources told ESPN that Butler could return somewhere in the January-to-February range, which fits with the clearer timetable that has come out this month.

Guard Moses Moody, who ruptured his left patellar tendon in late March, is ahead of Butler's pace and could be back in December or January.

The Warriors open the season Wednesday against the Lakers in Los Angeles and will have to stay afloat for a few months without their second star.

Butler just turned 37, and according to ESPN he becomes extension-eligible on Feb. 6, so his comeback will also shape his own future.

I think Butler's guilt is the best sign the Warriors have this season, because a player who feels he owes Curry something is going to come back hungry.

If Golden State can stay near the middle of the West until he returns, Butler could give Curry the last real shot that last season took away.