The Golden State Warriors have been sorely missing the contributions of Jimmy Butler. Though he wasn't quite the All-NBA player he was in his prime, considering he's 36 years old, Butler was a steadying veteran presence that helped handle much of the offensive and defensive load. 

Ever since he tore his ACL back in January, the Warriors have gone just 8-16, a far cry from the 25-19 record they had posted when Butler was healthy and in the lineup.

Butler got surgery on his knee back in early February and has since been away from the team doing rehab. This Monday, though, Butler reunited with the team and was in the locker room ahead of their game against the Washington Wizards.

Ahead of the game, Butler talked to reporters in the locker room and gave updates on himself.

"Just had surgery on my ACL five weeks ago. But, all in all, I'm good. Happy. (It's been) tough. Not being around my guys, not being able to play the game that I love, not being able to travel. Tough, but the rehab has been going. We're doing what we're supposed to be doing to try to get back on the timeline that we talked about getting back on."

It's great to hear straight from the man himself that his rehab has been going well and that he remains in high spirits despite the major setback. He gave a very Butler-esque answer when asked what led him to make the trip to Washington, D.C.

"I finally got to fly. I got to go be around my guys. I don't give a damn where it's at. If I could be there, I wanted to be there. So now I'm in the District of Columbia."

Butler was also asked the all-important question: when he thinks he'd be able to get back onto the court.

"I do want to come back, we all know that. I can’t say when. Obviously, as early as I can to help my guys win some games, but you probably hear me say it time after time, whenever my body is ready, like this one, of all other injuries, major or minor, whenever my body is ready, I promise I’m trying to get back out there.”

Though Butler's stats didn't necessarily pop off the page when he was healthy, they were by no means even middling numbers, let alone bad.

He had been averaging 20 points, 5 rebounds, and 5 assists while shooting the second-best field goal percentage of his career at 51.9%. He was in control on offense, allowing the Warriors' offense to remain functional, centered around him when Steph Curry went to the bench. 

Additionally, his defense was stellar, able to guard positions 1-4 and provide the Warriors with a ton of switching versatility, too.

Overall, Butler's advanced stats came in as the best on the team by far. When combining his impact offensively and defensively, his on-off net rating currently clocks in at +12.5, better than anyone on the Warriors team.

Though the Warriors are managing to stay within the play-in, you can only wonder what things could have looked like without Butler's unfortunate injury.