It's been a long time since we've gotten to see Jimmy Butler do his dynamic, two-way thing for the Golden State Warriors. The 37-year-old veteran forward tore his ACL during a late-January win over the Miami Heat, his former team, and obviously missed the rest of the 2025-2026 season. Unfortunately for the Warriors and anyone who loves watching Butler put on a show, we'll have to wait a little longer before we see him play again. Butler, of course, has already delivered a fiery comeback declaration.
Butler will miss the Warriors' opener against the Los Angeles Lakers on Wednesday night. And he's actually probably going to miss potentially half the 2026-2027 NBA season, if not a little more.
The Warriors, per ESPN's Anthony Slater, think that Butler could come back around January or February, depending on how the ongoing rehabilitation of his knee goes. Butler apparently has a personal and specific target date in mind that he hasn't revealed. It's also unclear if it's even his goal alone or something he's discussed with the Warriors medical staff.
Neither has advanced beyond individual court work, and there are several checkpoints to hit, but the current belief is [Moses] Moody could return in the December-to-January range, and [Jimmy] Butler could be back in the January-to-February range. Butler said the next step in his rehab is landing from a game speed-type jump without issue or concern.
"I know [an exact target date]," Butler said with a smile. "We know. Y'all just find out whenever y'all find out."
Ugh. What a bummer. The NBA is better with Butler shining on both ends of the court, but it's good to hear that he's in high spirits with his comeback looming. Here's hoping that his return to the floor is sooner rather than later.
This article originally appeared on For The Win: When will Jimmy Butler return to the Warriors?