It’s a long shot that will require the aging Golden State Warriors to stay healthy, but Jimmy Butler could be in line for his best crack at a championship since he heroically carried the 2022-23 Miami Heat to the Finals.
It’s hard to imagine that version of Butler, aka Playoff Jimmy, still exists. Across the 2021-22 and 2022-23 postseasons, Butler put up 27.1 points per game, took over contests on the regular and generally appeared to be one of the five best players in the world. He was a cape away from being confused with a superhero.
Fortunately, Stephen Curry remains an All-NBA superstar, Draymond Green is coming off a third-place finish in DPOY voting and the Dubs’ supporting cast looked like that of a top-tier contender from the moment they added Butler at the 2025 trade deadline.
The Warriors sit right around 10th in most championship odds forecasts, which feels a bit low given their upside and experience. But we can’t ignore the age factor, or the way Golden State could be athletically overwhelmed by the OKCs and Houstons of the world.
Still, Butler’s postseason resumé is as impressive as it gets. And now he’s playing alongside the best teammate of his career in Curry.
Rule out Playoff Jimmy at your own risk.
