For the first time since the 2025 NBA trade deadline, Jimmy Butler will return to Miami and face the Heat as a member of the Golden State Warriors. While the return will be the top storyline of Tuesday night, Butler does not see it as anything more than another game.
Coming off a 124-115 loss to the Atlanta Hawks, Butler simply wants the Warriors to get back on track with another win. Butler claims the fact that the win could be a personal victory for him over his former team holds no meaning to him.
“Yeah, I was traded from there, yada, yada, yada,” Butler said, via ESPN. “Yeah, it didn't end the way people wanted it to, yada, yada, yada. But that's so far behind me now. I don't even think about it. I don't pay attention to nothing except for the trajectory of this squad.”
The Heat are currently on an NBA-worst 10-game skid, going without a win for nearly the entire month of March. Since the blockbuster trade, Miami is just 4-17, while the Warriors are 16-4. Butler's addition has Golden State fighting for a top-four seed in the Western Conference, while the loss has his former team barely clinging to a play-in slot.
The game will not be the first time Butler will face his old team after a messy exit. Two months after his infamous drama-filled departure from the Minnesota Timberwolves, he led the Philadelphia 76ers to a 42-point win over them. That time, he admitted after the fact that he found pleasure in beating his old squad.
Warriors look to regain momentum against Heat
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In their matchup against the Heat, the Warriors will look to avoid consecutive losses for the first time in the Jimmy Butler era. Facing a team that has not won a game in three weeks seems like a perfect get-right spot on paper, but Golden State is 0-1 against Miami on the year.
The first meeting between the two resulted in a lopsided 16-point win for the Heat. Butler, then with Miami, did not play in that game, serving one of his three team-issued suspensions. Nikola Jovic instead led the team with 20 points, six rebounds and four assists off the bench.
While Butler and the Heat are clearly familiar with one another, the 35-year-old could have difficulty scoring against his former team. Despite its struggles, Miami still allows the fewest free-throw attempts in the league, Butler's main source of points. Even on as poor of a losing streak as they are on, the Heat are still a threat to the Warriors.
