The Golden State Warriors started out the 2024-2025 NBA season hot going 12-3 through their first 15 games. In their next 36 games, the team recorded a 13-23 record. A change was needed in the Bay if the Warriors wanted to salvage their season. This prompted the Warriors to trade for six-time NBA All-Star and five-time All-NBA team member Jimmy Butler.
Since the Warriors acquired Butler on Feb. 6, they have won 11 of their last 13 games. Their 11-2 record is good for second-best in the Western Conference during that period. Within the same span, the Warriors have jumped from 10th to sixth place in the conference.
Butler has been averaging 17.8 points, 5.3 rebounds and 5.3 assists per game during the 13-game span. Butler has contributed a +90 plus-minus since he arrived in San Francisco.
Ranked fifth for free throw attempts, Butler’s ability to get to the free-throw line has helped the Warriors in a category they struggled in prior to his arrival. Before the trade, the Warriors were ranked no. 27 in free throw attempts shooting 20.4 attempts per game. Since the trade, the Warriors are ranked fourth in free throw attempts, shooting 25.5 attempts per game.
Butler’s ability to perform on both ends of the court has made the Warriors a team that contenders, such as the Oklahoma City Thunder, Denver Nuggets and Los Angeles Lakers, don’t want to see in the first round of the postseason. According to Fanduel, the Warriors have the sixth-best odds at +2500 to win the NBA Title.
So, how did Butler’s impact on the court turn the Warriors into legitimate title contenders?
It’s clear that the Warriors’ front office hasn’t given Stephen Curry much help since their championship run in the 2021-2022 season. This season, fans around the league understood that the Warriors were shopping for a number two option for Curry before the trade deadline. Butler’s presence from an offensive standpoint has allowed Curry to excel.
Before the trade, Curry averaged 22.7 points and 6.1 assists per game and shot 38.9% from three-point land. Since the trade, Curry has averaged 30.4 points and 6.4 assists per game, shooting 42.2% from three.
Curry’s recent explosion is reminiscent of what Warriors fans had grown accustomed to from him.
Butler is not the number one option for the first time in his career in over a decade. Instead of trying to compete with Curry, Butler has adapted to play alongside him. Despite this, Butler still gets his chance to be the number one option when Curry isn’t on the floor.
Before the deadline, one of the Warriors’ biggest problems this season was their minutes when Curry wasn’t on the court. They didn’t have a primary ball creator to lead these minutes until Butler arrived in the Bay. His star ability makes the Warriors more competitive when Curry rests on the sideline.
Something that has taken a rise since Butler’s arrival has been the Warriors’ effective field goal percentage. Effective field goal percentage is an adjusted field goal percentage statistic, which adjusts for the added value of the three-pointers.
When Curry was off the floor, the Warriors’ offensive effective field goal percentage was 48.6 before the deadline. In the last 13 games without Curry on the floor and with Butler on the floor, they have shot an effective field goal percentage of 51.6.
Butler’s force on the defensive end is just as impactful as it is on the offensive end. Butler’s ability to defend has inspired the rest of the team. Since the trade, the Warriors have a 108.2 defensive rating, the second-best in the league in that span.
Landing Butler has also provided another defensive anchor to pair with Draymond Green. This duo brings the Warriors physicality, which they have been missing this season. Butler’s presence also allows the Warriors to mask Curry’s defensive ability.
When the Warriors traded for Butler, he signed a two-year, $111 million extension to stay with the team through the 2026-2027 season. This move initially received mixed reactions from fans because he is an older player at age 35, but everybody loves the extension now.
Curry and Butler’s current deals expire simultaneously after the 2026-2027 season, which gives the Warriors a three-year window to end the “Steph Curry era.” It buys the Warriors’ front office time to prepare for life after a potential Curry departure.
Since the deadline, you can tell which teams are turning things around and which are on a downward slide. Currently, the Warriors are firmly one of the four best teams in the Western Conference who are potentially setting up another run to the NBA Finals.
