Jimmy Butler had a very volatile 2024-25 season. He started the season in conflict with the Miami Heat, who refused to extend the player who led them to the NBA Finals in 2020 and 2023. Butler got suspended, dyed his hair in the colors of teams working to trade for him, and ultimately played just 25 games. Then, Miami traded Butler to the Golden State Warriors and it became clear that Butler was still one of the NBA’s elite players. That’s how he ended up No. 18 on ESPN’s Top 100 Players list, up from
No. 28 last year.
The Warriors won 14 of the first 15 games Butler played for the team, ultimately going 23-7 with Butler in the lineup to close the season. He scored 25 points against the Houston Rockets in his first playoff game, then suffered an injury when Amen Thompson inadvertently undercut Butler on a rebound.
Butler rushed back from his injury in Game 4, scoring 20+ points in three of the remaining games of the series, including a 20-point, 8-rebound, 7-assist effort in 45 minutes in Game 7. Overall, Butler averaged 17.6 points, 6.1 rebounds, 4.7 assists, and over a steal per game, despite playing injured and without Steph Curry for the final four games.
ESPN’s Anthony Slater wrote:
The drama to close his Miami chapter kept him off the court for the majority of last season. His Warriors stint was short — 30 regular-season games, 11 playoff games — but spectacular in all the impact metrics. Most notably: winning. The Warriors were 25-26 when he arrived. They finished on a 23-8 sprint and beat the second-seeded Rockets in the first round. Butler’s hard fall on his tailbone in that series sapped some of his pop the rest of the playoffs, but word from those around Butler is that he has had an extremely motivated summer of work, and they expect him to come out of the gate steaming. The question for Butler and his post-prime teammates is how their bodies progress over the 82-game grind.
Butler’s combination of playmaking, rebounding, and clutch shot-making are all crucial for the Warriors. As is his ability to get to the foul line. In just 30 games, Butler ranked third on the team in free-throw attempts, just four behind Jonathan Kuminga. Butler averaged 7.7 FTAs and made 87% of his freebies. He also plays tremendous defense, picking up 1.7 steals per game as the undersized Warriors ended up 7th in the NBA in defensive rating.
For reference, the main piece heading to Miami in the Butler trade, Andrew Wiggins, ranked No. 89 on the list, and his writeup was mainly about how it was disappointing he never became a superstar and discussing the likelihood he would get traded during the season. Rude!
Butler’s spot on the list is one behind Orlando Magic forward Paolo Banchero, one ahead of Jaylen Brown of the Boston Celtics, and Los Angeles Clippers environmentalist Kawhi Leonard. In case you’re worried, it does not appear that Joe Lacob has invested a cent into Big Face Coffee.
No. 10 is No. 18. Seems like the right spot for the future Hall of Famer.
