Jimmy Butler tears ACL in Warriors win over Heat: reports

SAN FRANCISCO — Jimmy Butler had to be helped back to the locker room early in the third quarter of the Warriors’ 135-112 victory on Monday over the Heat at Chase Center.

He underwent an MRI the same night, and the results are expected be officially revealed later on Tuesday morning or afternoon. Warriors coach Steve Kerr said he did not want to speculate on how the team will adapt to Butler’s expected absence until the results of the test came back.

“Assuming we’ll be without him for a little bit, we’re going to miss him, but we’ve got a lot of players who can play, and we’re showing our depth right now,” Kerr said.

However, ESPN’s Shams Charania and The Athletic’s Sam Amick both reported a few minutes past midnight on Tuesday that the MRI came back as having shown a season-ending torn ACL.

Butler went down with 7:41 left in the third after receiving a post entry pass from Brandin Podziemski. While colliding with Miami’s Davion Mitchell, Butler landed awkwardly on his right leg, and then immediately crumpled to the ground while holding that knee.

After staying on the floor for several minutes while surrounded by teammates, Butler rose to his feet. Coach Steve Kerr and several of Butler’s teammates said that Butler was in good spirits even while he was on the ground apparently writhing in pain.

“It’s kind of funny, he was still cracking jokes over there while he was on the ground, in true Jimmy fashion,” Steph Curry said. “Always having a good time no matter what the situation is. I do love that perspective and that part of his personality. Even in the worst of the moments, he was still having a good time. He was still trying to get to the free throw line. Said he had two shots.”

He then slowly walked back to the locker room, helped by Jonathan Kuminga and Gary Payton II, and putting almost zero weight on his right leg.

The Warriors listed him as out with a right knee injury a few minutes later. Butler had torn a meniscus in 2018 and had an MCL sprain in 2024 in the same knee.

“When I got to the end of the tunnel, they had the wheelchair for him,” Hield said. “He said he’s fine.”

Butler, 36, had been on his way to a stellar game against the team that traded him last February, finishing the night with 17 points and four assists in 21 minutes.

Jimmy Butler had to be helped to the locker room after appearing to injury his knee pic.twitter.com/sOSpAxbbAP

— Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) January 20, 2026

Butler’s injury depleted an already thin Warriors front line. Starting power forward Draymond Green was unavailable for the Heat game with a right ankle injury, though coach Steve Kerr said the team believes Green should be available for Tuesday’s matchup with the visiting Raptors.

Third-year forward Gui Santos also missed the Heat game with a left ankle injury, and Kuminga remained on the bench after requesting a trade last week. Could this be a chance for Kuminga to re-enter the rotation? Kerr sounded skeptical during the postgame press conference, simply responding “Sure, absolutely” when asked about Kuminga’s availability.

Butler missed Saturday’s game for personal reasons.

Despite losing one of their best players and already being shorthanded, the Warriors (25-19) were able to finish off a convincing victory over the Heat to secure their sixth win in seven games. Brandin Podziemski scored 24, and despite dealing with foul trouble throughout, Steph Curry scored 19 and had 11 assists in just 28 minutes.

“Hopefully, it’s nothing too bad, but if it is, we’ve got to go out there and roll with the guys we have,” Podziemski said.

Miami, missing Tyler Herro (rib contusion), was led by Norm Powell (21 points). The Warriors were able to overcome the injury on Monday night, but going forward, every coach and player on Golden State knows that replacing the future Hall of Famer’s impact on the floor will be difficult.

“You can’t pout, you can’t put your head down. Its another opportunity for somebody to step up. Everybody has to step up and do more,” Hield said. “It’s an 82-game season. Tehre’s always a challenge within the challenge. We’re grooving right now, and hopefully we can just take another step until Jimmy gets back.”