How Jimmy Butler has fit with the Warriors

The new star acquisition has had an auspicious start to his Golden State stint.

If you want the short story: Jimmy Butler has fit amazingly well in two games playing alongside Steph Curry and the rest of the Golden State Warriors roster. Knowing Butler’s pedigree as a player — the high basketball IQ, playmaking, scoring, and defensive versatility — the on-court fit wasn’t something to be worried about.

All the worries involved Butler’s past history as a mercurial star, as well as his age. At 35-years old, he isn’t exactly a spring chicken; furthermore, it also puts a ceiling on his ability to be a lockdown defender tasked to guard opposing perimeter creators, whether they be guards or wings. Being paired with soon-to-be 37-year-old Curry also places a timer on their ability to bring the Warriors back to the promised land. As such, Butler’s recent extension with the Warriors (two years, $111 million) will carry him through the 2026-27 season — coincidentally, the same season in which Curry and Draymond Green’s current contracts will expire.

While Butler may have been acquired as somewhat of a win-now addition, the Warriors are currently 10th in the Western Conference with a 27-26 record. The best they could hope for is a climb up the standings toward a bona fide playoff berth and hope for Curry and Butler — both proven playoff performers — to make noise in the playoffs. But the true measure of their ability to bring the Warriors to a championship will be assessed next season and beyond. Mike Dunleavy Jr. has tradeable assets to play with in the offseason; it will fall upon his shoulders to surround the new star duo with complementary role players.

If you want the long story, here are two articles written by yours truly focusing on Butler’s impact offensively. But based on the film from the first two games, Butler’s ability to wear multiple hats on offense has been crucial behind their victories against the Chicago Bulls and Milwaukee Bucks.

Of course, Butler can be the long-awaited secondary scorer behind Curry that he has sorely needed this season. In particular, Butler’s ability to work in the post and create shots — especially against smaller defenders — is an added dimension to the Warriors’ post-split action that hasn’t been seen since Kevin Durant’s days as a Warrior.

Those mismatches have been coaxed through early offense screening for Butler on the side. Once Butler has his targeted man on him, he has gone straight to work.

If Butler sees help coming his way toward the block, he has shown the vision to see the open man and the willingness to dish the ball:

Butler has also flashed his ability to be a connector — that is, connecting initiation with finishing to make full use of the advantage Curry has created up front:

While Butler may not profile as the main star-stopper — at least, not on a nightly basis — he still wrecks defensive havoc in other ways, such as jumping passing lanes and punishing passes that are thrown nonchalantly.

Take the following data with a grain of salt due to how small the sample size has been (and also taking into consideration quality of opponents: a Bulls team ready to tank, and a Bucks team without Giannis Antetokounmpo). In two games, the Warriors have outscored opponents by a total of 16 points during Butler’s minutes. Staggering Curry and Butler has also been working; with Curry on the floor without Butler (31 minutes), the Warriors outscored the Bulls and Bucks by nearly 37 points per 100 possessions. With Butler on the floor without Curry (23 minutes), the Warriors outscored the Bulls and the Bucks by nearly 24 points per 100 possessions.

Butler has not only been fitting in well with Curry and the Warriors — he has been thriving. That is the sort of good news the Warriors have been looking for all season long.