Jimmy Butler is helping Warriors extend their remarkable era of contention

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SAN FRANCISCO — Dillon Brooks plays for the Houston Rockets now, which is a revealing fact of its own when it comes to the spicy history of this Memphis-Golden State matchup.

Back when he was part of the Grizzlies’ failed revolution against the dynasty Warriors, in that Western Conference semifinal battle in 2022 that left the up-and-coming youngsters so devastated against the old heads who would go on to win it all for the fourth time in eight tries, Brooks made a declaration that didn’t age well. And age, to be clear, is the operative word there.

“They know that we’re going to come every single year,” Brooks, then 26 years old, said after the deciding Game 6 loss. “We’re young, and they’re getting old. So, they know we’re coming every single year.”

Yet here the Warriors are — nearly three years later — still finding a way to contend. To compete. To continue this journey that, no matter what comes next, is so remarkably admirable because of its longevity and ingenuity.

PLAYOFF BOUND.@kpthrive || 2025 Playoffs pic.twitter.com/nt8Gjr4svL

— Golden State Warriors (@warriors) April 16, 2025

By virtue of their Play-In triumph in the latest Grizzlies grudge match, a 121-116 win at Chase Center that came with Jimmy Butler shining (38 points, seven rebounds, six assists) and Steph Curry (37 points, eight rebounds, four assists) finishing, these Warriors are officially in the parity-filled, playoff mix that will end with one victorious team two months from now. After all the signs that their end was near, with the 37-year-old Curry and 35-year-old Draymond Green changing everything by greenlighting the trade with Miami for the 35-year-old Butler at the February deadline, this was their return to the world of “meaningful basketball,” as Curry so often likes to say. And with the Warriors set to face Brooks and the Rockets in the first round that starts on Sunday, the reminders of their reign are everywhere.

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The Grizzlies have a chapter all their own, with Ja Morant, Jaren Jackson Jr. and Desmond Bane having ended the Warriors’ season via the Play-In in 2021 only to fall in the following year. The Rockets are coached by Ime Udoka, who was leading the Boston Celtics when they lost to Golden State in the 2022 NBA Finals. Before Udoka arrived, it was those James Harden/Mike D’Antoni-led Houston teams that took Golden State on so boldly yet never found a way to knock them off.

The list of Warriors foes who are still trying to send them back to irrelevance goes on from there. Yet this time around, there’s an oldie-but-goodie newcomer who has every intention of keeping this storyline going for the foreseeable future.

“Playoff Jimmy,” as he’s so widely known this time of year, gives these Warriors the kind of puncher’s chance they simply didn’t have before. Say what you will about the unpleasant way in which he left the Heat, but his Miami legacy should be forever remembered by this indisputable fact: He carried those teams to the finals in two of his five full seasons there, with significantly less help than his opponents along the way. His individual greatness in the 2020 bubble run, specifically, was as impressive as any I’ve seen in 21 years covering the league.

True to form, he carried the Warriors against the Grizzlies during all those times when Curry’s shot was off (Curry was 5-of-15 at one point). Butler’s knack for getting to the line was a steadying factor, even with his six misses in 18 attempts, with Butler calming the squad during all those angst-filled stretches after a 20-point lead was erased.

“I love having a target on my back,” Butler told The Athletic when asked about this experience of keeping the younger contenders at bay. “I think I’ve had it the last couple of years over in the East, and (the Warriors) are gonna always have it, until 30 (Curry) and 23 (Green) are gone out this motherf–––––.

“They’re always gonna be the squad to beat. Everybody always fears them. Everybody always knows that they’re not out of any game, out of any series, and I love to be a part of it. I ain’t scared of nobody. You know me. I’m not scared of nobody. I know what I’m capable of. Like I always say, now is the time to show it, but I know what they’re capable of more than anything. When you’ve got some hellified ballers in there that are confident, that accept their role, and they do whatever we ask them to do to win, man, that’s hard to beat. That’s very hard to beat.”

There’s something poetic about the Warriors adding the most motivated, impactful star player in the East as a means to returning to relevance in the West. But it’s one thing to script this sort of stuff in the office, with second-year general manager Mike Dunleavy — who was teammates with Butler in Chicago — convincing his group that he was worth the risk. In case anyone forgets, all the signs in early January pointed to Golden State preferring to pass on Butler while eventually targeting the prospect of a reunion with Kevin Durant. It’s quite another to see it unfold in real time, with Butler meshing in the kind of way that the Warriors’ primary stakeholders weren’t sure was even possible.

When Butler and I discussed the topic of championship aspirations, it was fascinating to hear his view on his motives at the moment. One would think that his focus on winning his first Larry O’Brien trophy would be singular, as he is one of the most accomplished players in the history of the game who hasn’t won one.

Yet as he insisted afterward, the goal here is to help salvage what the Warriors have already built. No matter what it might mean for his own imperfect narrative.

JIMMY BUTLER III APPRECIATION POST pic.twitter.com/JUUXDOHr5N

— Golden State Warriors (@warriors) April 16, 2025

“Look, I’m not gonna say I’m not hungry, but I’m doing this for Steph,” Butler told The Athletic. “I’m doing this for Dray. I’m doing this for these guys. As much as I want to win a championship, I want Dray to win another one. I want Steph to win another one. I know I ain’t got mine yet, but they deserve it. They’ve been putting this city and this organization on their back for a very long time, and I’m glad that I can be here to try and do something special.”

Make no mistake, it hasn’t all been roses in the Bay. There was the 15-win season in 2019-20, and the 2021 campaign in which the Grizzlies ended their resurgence with a Play-In dagger in overtime. They missed the 2024 postseason when the Sacramento Kings knocked them out yet again on the Play-In stage.

But the basketball bodies that they’ve buried in this era have been many, from the Grizzlies to the deep beyond. And for now, with Memphis being pushed to the background yet again while the Warriors move on, the prospect of one more run — incredibly — remains.

“I think it’s just a reminder that it’s not guaranteed,” Curry said. “I don’t care how talented you are. You look around the league, you could argue (that) more talented teams than we have that are on the outside looking in. So you appreciate the moments. That’s why we’ve been talking this game for the last two months, how important it is to play meaningful games. And now we have a series that’s going to be full of meaningful ones.”

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(Photo of Jimmy Butler and Steph Curry: Jed Jacobsohn / NBAE via Getty Images)

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