Jimmy Butler is sidelined for the rest of the 2025-26 NBA season after suffering a torn ACL for the Golden State Warriors on January 19, 2026. Butler will not be playing in the Warriors’ Play-In Tournament game against the Los Angeles Clippers on Wednesday night.
It was another strong season for the 36-year-old before going down with the torn ACL, in what was his first with Golden State after being acquired at the trade deadline in 2025. He averaged 20 points, 5.6 rebounds, 4.9 assists, and 1.5 steals on 51.9% shooting in 38 games, but after the injury, he is out for the rest of the year.
Butler did joke on Instagram that he was reportedly listed as doubtful for the Warriors vs Clippers game on Wednesday, but he is officially ruled out.
When Is Jimmy Butler Coming Back From His ACL Injury For The Warriors?
Butler is sidelined for at least the rest of the 2025-26 season for the Warriors, including the Play-In Tournament, and regardless of how far they make it into the 2026 NBA Playoffs. He is one of a few players listed on Golden State’s injury report, officially ‘out’ against the Clippers, the same injury status he’s had for nearly the past three months.
The typical return timeline for a torn ACL, while it has shortened over the past few years compared to decades ago, remains at about nine to 12 months. That would keep him out likely for the start of next season, and could see him miss at least the first few months of that year for the Warriors.
According to Shams Charania of ESPN, that is the expectation Golden State has for when Butler will come back.
“The Warriors are already embracing for the possibility and the potential likelihood that he’s gonna miss the start of next season,” Charania said back in January. “He turns 37 this offseason, and he faces a year-long work of recovery potentially.”
The Warriors have already been dealing with a ton of injuries throughout the year, and Butler’s torn ACL was just the first of many that have since derailed what was originally a season filled with hope.
Jimmy Butler Injury Update And Message To Warriors Fans
Butler underwent successful surgery to repair his ACL on Monday, February 9.
According to Anthony Slater of ESPN, there won’t be any further injury updates for the time being.
“Butler will miss the rest of this season and his progress won’t be updated until “early next season,” according to the news release, signaling the team’s expectation that he won’t be back until the middle of the 2026-27 campaign,” Slater wrote.
In mid-February, Butler sent a message to Warriors season-ticket holders about his recovery and eventual return.
“I can promise you that I will attack my rehab with a singular focus that will enable me to get back to playing the game that I love, in front of the fans that I have grown to love and appreciate,” Butler wrote. “I will be back, and I need you back, too. Here’s to what’s ahead. Go Dubs.”
Most recently, before Golden State’s final game of the regular season against the Clippers, Butler was seen off his crutches during the team’s pregame warmups.
“Jimmy Butler in L.A. off crutches; he’s kind of bouncing around a little bit. Just the vision of that is a reminder [the] second best player is at least trending back at some point,” Slater wrote on X as a caption for his video of Butler.
Despite that being just one of his first appearances with the team since his injury, Butler is sidelined for the Warriors’ Play-In Tournament game, and likely into the 2026-27 NBA season.
Warriors Injury Report For Play-In Game Vs Clippers
Butler is just one of a few Warriors players listed on the team’s injury report ahead of their Play-In game against the Clippers.
He, Moses Moody, and Quinten Post all highlight that group for Golden State.
Moody, like Butler, is out for the rest of the season, as he went down with a torn patellar tendon on March 23. Post is out with a right foot injury, but based on the latest injury update offered by the team, he will be re-evaluated this week, meaning he could return should the Warriors advance either on Wednesday or through the entire Play-In Tournament.
But for now, the Butler injury has hovered like a dark cloud over Golden State’s 2025-26 campaign. The team was playing well before he got hurt, and have crated since. That was also due to the injury of Stephen Curry, who was sidelined for more than two months with ‘runner’s knee’ but the season-ending Butler injury all but put a halt on any real playoff hopes.
Butler is out for the Warriors’ Play-In Tournament game against the Clippers, and likely for a lot longer. It remains to be fully determined when he will come back, but based on all the reporting on his injury, a return for the star shouldn’t be expected until at least a decent stretch into next season.
Warriors vs Clippers Play-In game tips off at 7 pm PST on Amazon Prime Video.
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