It’s a claim Jimmy Butler has made before- just never while sitting in a chair, shooting threes off a bum knee. Despite missing the start of the 2026–27 NBA season as he completes the back half of his ACL recovery, Butler refuses to lower the bar for Golden State. That unwavering belief, the same one that fueled two Finals runs in Miami and prompted him to declare “championship coming soon” the day he arrived in the Bay, is precisely why the Warriors’ front office executed the momentous trade to bring him here in early 2025. The eyes remain fixed on the Larry O’Brien trophy.

“We got Steph on our team?” Butler sarcastically questioned his honest expectations during an appearance to announce the Warriors’ new partnership with AI company Iren on Thursday.

“S–, we’re going to win. I’m a firm believer that Steph is one of the greatest players to ever play this game. His talent is game-changing alone. You legitimately always have a chance when Steph is on the floor, no matter the time – fourth quarter, second quarter, overtime – so he, we, are expected to win at a high level, and I think we are going to do that.”

The conviction isn’t new. When Butler was introduced by GSW in February 2025, he walked into the locker room and told his new teammates:

“I’m only here to win. I don’t care about points. I don’t care about shots. The goal is winning a championship.”

He backed it up, too – going 19–2 alongside Curry before tearing his right ACL on January 19 against his former team, the Heat, effectively ending Golden State’s season before it could begin.

Curry then missed two months with runner’s knee complications, and the Warriors limped to a 37–45 record and a Play-In exit. The pairing that briefly looked like a title contender never got its full run.

That’s what makes this moment matter. Butler initially described the months since as mentally taxing.

“You know, you’re doing so much work knowing you still got so much more work to do to get back to where you want to be. It’s a process. It’s a grind. It’s nothing new, but at the same time, it’s very new, and I look forward to getting back to where I want to be. Tedious. Yes. Mentally frustrating. Very much so.”

And yet the frustration hasn’t touched the belief. Butler concluded by stating he feels ready to dunk a basketball, but won’t land on his right leg just yet. He has shot threes from a chair sitting down, and said he is roughly a month and a half from running- aligning with a midseason return.

By the time he takes the floor, he intends to reprise the role he defined himself in when he arrived:

“As soon as I can get back on the floor, being the Robin to Steph’s Batman, I will be back.”

Warriors owner co-signs Jimmy Butler’s expectation

The Warriors have been here before, staring down an injury-interrupted season and asking whether the Curry window still cracks open. They answered that question in 2022, winning a fourth championship after Kevin Durant’s departure and two playoff-free years. Now, with Curry at 38 and Butler sidelined, the franchise is betting it can answer it again.

With both Moses Moody and Jimmy Butler recovering from severe knee surgeries, the Warriors’ wing depth is deeply depleted heading into the winter. That’s why the front office used the lottery pick at #11 to draft a star who will plug and play in the line-up alongside Steph Curry. The front office secured Yaxel Lendeborg, a 23-year-old proven 3-and-D player with a championship pedigree.

After the draft, the work wasn’t done.

The Warriors also secured Al Horford’s signature for a new two-year, $14 million deal. While the roster construction is still underway, owner Joe Lacob remains optimistic and wants to have another go at winning the championship.

“Look, culture is very, very important to any organization no matter what the business is, and we clearly have that,” Lacob said. “And we have the resources to do it. We have an incredible group of people that work in this place that are working every single day, and excitedly, to be where we belong, which is on top.”

Currently, the Warriors are $33.0 million below the first apron and nearly $46.0 million below the second apron- financial flexibility that gives the front office room to make further additions before Butler returns. The claim on the floor is Butler’s. The runway to make it real is being built around him.