Jimmy Butler injury update. Image via: Tim Warner/ Getty Images
The Golden State forward has been sidelined since tearing his ACL midway through the 2025-26 season, and for months there was no real clarity on when he’d suit up again. Before the injury, Butler was putting up strong numbers across 38 games, averaging 20.0 points, 5.5 rebounds and 4.9 assists while shooting 51.9 percent from the field and 37.6 percent from three. Brett Siegel of ClutchPoints reported that Christmas Day is emerging as the earliest realistic target for Butler’s return, though he stressed nothing is locked in yet. Butler is currently in the second and final year of that extension, which he signed after declining his previous player option.
Here’s what’s being said, and why his next few months matter for Golden State’s plans. Siegel said there have been small but encouraging signs in Butler’s rehab and floated that he could even be ahead of the typical ACL recovery curve. On his Clutch Scoops podcast, he said, “I fully anticipate him being back before the trade deadline.
Jimmy Butler injury update news is heating up again, and for once it comes with something concrete attached to it. A fresh report suggests Butler could be closer to a return than most expected, arriving just as his name keeps surfacing in trade conversations around the league. Once it expires, he’ll hit unrestricted free agency, and that expiring money is exactly why his name keeps surfacing in trade talk. A large expiring salary is often the simplest way to make the money work on a bigger deal.