After Golden State Warriors veteran Jimmy Butler sat out of Sunday's preseason game against the Los Angeles Lakers, he was diagnosed with an ankle sprain from practice on Friday. Head coach Steve Kerr confirmed Butler's injury and said he'll miss the Warriors' upcoming matchup against the Portland Trail Blazers.
Kerr revealed Butler's injury during practice on Monday, per The Athletic's Anthony Slater.
Jimmy Butler is out tomorrow night in Portland now,” Slater reported. “He had an ankle sprain in practice on Friday. Steve Kerr said team thought it was minor, but it remains a little swollen. Hope is he returns for Friday’s preseason finale.”
Butler, who finished with 12 points, three assists, and two steals in 17 minutes in a 129-123 win against the Trail Blazers last week, played in his second outing of the preseason for the Warriors. However, Kerr's hope of having him back in the lineup for Golden State's preseason finale is a good sign.
Expectations set high for Jimmy Butler, 2025-26 Warriors
Heading into his first full season alongside four-time champions Stephen Curry and Draymond Green, Warriors veteran forward Jimmy Butler enters 2025-26 with high expectations. The team's core trio didn't have much time to gel in the latter half of 2024-25.
Butler was sidelined with a pelvic injury in the opening round of the Warriors' best-of-7 series against the Rockets. Then, Curry's hamstring injury in the Warriors' Western Conference semifinal series against the Timberwolves only made matters worse after Game 1. Steph missed the rest of the best-of-7 series, and the Timberwolves advanced to the Western Conference Finals in five games.
The revamped Warriors, who signed veteran Al Horford to fill a void left at center by Kevon Looney, who signed with the Pelicans in free agency, made offseason tweaks. The Warriors signed Curry's brother, Seth Curry, and they also inked Jonathan Kuminga, De'Anthony Melton, and Gary Payton II to extensions ahead of the 2025-26 campaign.
Amid a competitive Western Conference led by the defending champion Thunder, the Warriors will look to make their deepest playoff run since 2022, when they last won a championship. Butler, during his days with the Heat, never won a ring, but competed for a title twice in five years. He last reached the NBA Finals in 2023.
