Jimmy Butler suffers a season-ending torn ACL injury

By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña

The Golden State Warriors suffered what may be their worst nightmare of the 2025–26 NBA season.

Superstar forward Jimmy Butler is officially out for the remainder of the season after sustaining a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee during their 135–112 victory over the Miami Heat on Jan. 20, 2026.

A torn ACL typically requires six to nine months of recovery, but former NBA players who have dealt with similar injuries have often taken a full year before returning to action.

Butler went down at the 7:41 mark of the third quarter after jockeying for position to receive Brandon Podziemski’s high-low pass in the shaded area.

After absorbing contact from Miami guard Davion Mitchell upon receiving the pass, Butler landed awkwardly on one leg and immediately fell, clutching his right knee.

Golden State head coach Steve Kerr quickly called a timeout and rushed to Butler, who was shouting and grimacing in pain while lying on the floor.

“I mean, we were all really concerned. We will know more. Everybody is subdued because of the injury,” Kerr said.

Butler did not return to the game and was on pace for a monster performance after recording 20 points, four assists, three rebounds and two steals in just 20 minutes of playing time.

The star swingman’s season-ending injury came at a crucial time, as the Warriors had just secured their fourth consecutive win, their longest active streak of the season.

Butler appeared in 37 regular-season games and finished the 2025–26 campaign averaging 20.1 points, 5.6 rebounds, 4.9 assists and 1.4 steals per game.

“You never like to see a situation like that,” Stephen Curry said of his teammate’s injury.

“Praying for the best, obviously. Hopefully, he is all right. If anybody goes down, we will figure it out. It depends on what’s going on.”