One year ago, Jimmy Butler stepped foot in his former home of the Wells Fargo Center to take on the Philadelphia 76ers as a member of the Miami Heat for the Eastern Conference’s seventh seed.
The start of the 2024 NBA Play-In Tournament went all wrong for Butler. Not only did his team come up short against the Sixers, but Butler ended up suffering an injury during the matchup. He was sidelined for the rest of the postseason.
In a 40-minute showing against the Sixers, Butler went 5-18, dropping 19 points. He also had four rebounds, five assists, and five assists. While it was a good effort while dealing with a lower-body injury, Butler and the Heat were defeated 105-104.
The Heat still made the playoffs by winning the battle for the eighth seed. Then, their season ended in round one against the eventual champions, the Boston Celtics.
On Tuesday night in 2025, the ex-Sixers star got his redemption with the Golden State Warriors. After Golden State came up short against the Los Angeles Clippers during their season finale on Sunday, the Warriors ended up in a Play-In Tournament scenario with the Memphis Grizzlies.
For Butler, it was his first taste of postseason action with the Warriors.
The star mid-season acquisition picked up a 40-minute shift. He came second in field goals, behind the sharpshooting Steph Curry. Going 12-20 from the field, and 12-18 from the charity stripe, Butler dropped 38 points on the Grizzlies.
BAY AREA… MEET PLAY-IN JIMMY.
🔥 38 points
🔥 7 rebounds
🔥 6 assists
🔥 3 steals@JimmyButler‘s highest-scoring game as a Warrior powers his team in the #SoFiPlayIn! pic.twitter.com/sAM0anEHjG— NBA (@NBA) April 16, 2025
The All-Star guard also dished out six assists while coming down with seven rebounds and snatching three steals. Butler’s Warriors ended up securing the seventh seed in the Western Conference by taking down the Grizzlies 121-116.
This season will be Butler’s first postseason run with Golden State. After a very public feud with the Heat earlier this season, Miami cut ties with Butler by engaging in a major multi-team trade to send Butler out West. A few months later, Butler and the Warriors are preparing for a round-one battle against the Houston Rockets.
Butler has 11 years of playoff experience under his belt. Just one of those runs came with the Sixers. When in Philly, Butler averaged 19 points, five assists, and six rebounds in 12 games. The Sixers came up short in round two that year.
The recent runs in Miami have been Butler’s best. In 64 outings, he posted averages of 25 points, seven rebounds, and six assists. The Heat made deep runs to the NBA Finals twice. This year, Butler will attempt to help the Warriors make a deep push as dark horse candidates.
