SAN FRANCISCO — As he backpedaled following his stepback 3-pointer over P.J. Washington in front of Dallas’ bench, Steph Curry pulled out his now world-famous celebration. Night. Night.
The oddity about this one, however, was that 2 minutes, 50 seconds remained. In the third quarter.
Curry shunned his usual concerns about pulling out his gesture too early. His one worry is pulling out the celebration and then losing the game. But in a rare instance, Curry did not filter his confidence, giving no regard to the potential for shame. He had revenge on his heart. Curry remembered on Feb. 12 when Washington co-opted Curry’s celebration gesture in the Mavericks’ win over Golden State in Dallas. It didn’t sit well with the Warriors that Washington didn’t play that night.
So when Curry got the chance, he pulled it out for Washington and simultaneously flexed the newfound certainty he is feeling these days.
“The Night-Night stuff is never really predictable,” Curry said. “ It’s just whenever I’m feeling it. And you gotta be good to do it.”
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A month ago, he was giving bleak state-of-the-Warriors news conferences after every brutal defeat. Now, he’s trolling his foes midway through the second half. Curry hasn’t exuded this much audaciousness since he pointed to his ring finger in Boston in the third quarter of Game 6 in the 2022 NBA Finals.
Witness the impact of Jimmy Butler.
“One hundred percent,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. “Jimmy gives us some swagger.”
When Draymond Green predicted a Warriors championship on Feb. 16, sharing that bold message on the TNT airwaves during NBA All-Star Weekend after making the same declaration privately in the days before, it was fair to wonder about the origins of his newfound cockiness. The answer, according to the Warriors who matter most, is born out of the lessons learned during the dynastic run they want so badly to extend. They recognize the team’s higher ceiling since acquiring Butler from Miami. A familiar sense of viability has returned.
“I just know what it looks like,” Green told The Athletic when asked to explain his proclamation. “This team all year has been kind of like, ‘Man, we’re right there, but can’t quite get over the hump.’ But there’s a reason that you feel like you’re right there, but can’t quite get over.
“And the reason I think we all thought we couldn’t quite get over was because there was a missing piece. That piece isn’t missing anymore. That piece is him.”
The Warriors have been in search of this combination of talent and aura — perhaps since 2019 when Kevin Durant departed for free agency. As their foundational trio of Curry, Green and Klay Thompson aged, the need became increasingly apparent. It was exacerbated when Thompson left in free agency and as their young hopefuls proved not yet ready for such expectations.
The Warriors checked in on LeBron James at the 2024 trade deadline. They tried to fill the void by going after Paul George and Lauri Markkanen last summer but couldn’t get a massive deal done. They even came close to reuniting with Durant. League and team sources said they had the structure of a deal agreed upon after Phoenix reached out to Golden State, but they decided against pushing the button after learning Durant wasn’t interested.
It all led to Butler, who also was in search of a franchise to maximize his talents. And his wallet.
“Jimmy almost won the championship leading the team — twice,” Green said of Butler, who signed a two-year, $112 million extension with the Warriors that runs through the summer of 2027. “So he just needed a little bit more to get over the hump. I think we needed a little more to get over the hump. You combine those two together, and this one guy with an undying passion and wants to win a championship. It’s like burning for that.
“And then there are some guys who have done it before but are burning to f—ing do it at least one more time. You mix the two together with the know-how — because Jimmy knows how. Obviously, we know how. And what you get is what everybody’s going to see.”
It’s been six games, capped with the Warriors 126-102 deconstructing of the hobbled Mavericks. Not coincidentally, Sunday’s foe represented the lone loss in Golden State’s Butler era, that four-point defeat in Dallas on Feb. 12 prompting Washington’s taunt.
The shift toward becoming a more balanced, two-way team has been evident. With Green and Butler still among the game’s best defenders, and the pieces of the Warriors puzzle around them suddenly fitting in so well, they’ve had the league’s sixth-best defensive rating and the sixth-best offensive rating since Butler’s debut on Feb. 8. Before Butler’s arrival, the Warriors ranked No. 10 in defensive rating and No. 18 in offensive rating. The Warriors’ net rating, 16th before the trade, is fifth since.
For Butler’s part, this immaculate vibe has everything to do with what these Warriors represent. He spent much of his six seasons in Miami wishing team president Pat Riley would add more firepower to the roster, reaching the NBA Finals twice despite big man Bam Adebayo being the only other All-Star in the Heat’s employ. Yet now, with future Hall of Famers like Curry and Green having embraced him during these early days that have gone so well, Butler agrees with Green’s bullish view on what might lie ahead.
“I don’t pay attention to social (media), so I didn’t know that (Green) said that,” Butler told The Athletic between sips of a beer in the visiting locker room in Sacramento after Friday night’s win over the Kings. “But we do have a chance. And the reason why is not because I’m here. It’s not because of the energy that I may or may not bring. It’s because everybody thinks that we can win. That’s all that matters.
“If everybody thinks that you can do something, then you can do it. I’m not going to say how it was before I was here. I don’t know. I wasn’t here. But when you go around this locker room, and you see the joy, and you see the excitement that everybody gets to hoop and play basketball with one another, we really think, and we really know, that every time we take the floor, we should win — home or away. That’s the difference-maker in this thing.”
Before Butler arrived, Green had a standing request of the team’s front office that he deemed vital to their renaissance: Go get another “a–hole,” as one team source described it. Another fiery, two-way talent like him who would say what needed to be said at all times and compete on the knife’s edge on both ends of the floor.
Warriors legend Andre Iguodala, whose jersey was lifted into the rafters after the win over Dallas, played that part as well as anyone. Cherished veterans such as David West and Andrew Bogut made vital contributions to that department, too. But Butler, as Green sees it now, is the man for this moment.
“I know how a championship looks,” Green said. “I know the demeanor that you have to have on the floor against the teams that you’re going up against. When you win a championship, you’re not always better than the team that you beat along the way. But you know how to get it done. And I think a part of that demeanor is how you get it done. I think with where we are as an organization, as a team, the makeup of our team, we needed a little more of that. And we got it.”
It wasn’t unanimous in the Warriors’ realm that Butler would fit this mold. His talent was unquestionable. His winning attitude had been proved. But his age (35) and price tag when mixed with the uncertainty of which Butler would show up — the gamer who put the Heat on his back, or the one trolling the Heat on social media — prompted concern from some in the organization.
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Just as the Warriors’ key stakeholders had their early reservations about pursuing Butler, signs pointed to his uncertainty about the prospect of a partnership with them, too. On Feb. 3, amid all the chaos and acrimony that came with his messy exit from Miami, an ESPN report indicated Butler wasn’t interested in signing a contract extension with the Warriors if they traded for him. It was, at first glance, the kind of public messaging from a player typically meant to scare off an unwelcome suitor.
Yet three weeks later, as Butler sat so content at his locker following Friday night’s win at Sacramento, he sidestepped a question about that subplot in the most self-assured of ways.
“Honestly — in the most humble way possible — I’m a good fit everywhere,” said Butler, who is averaging 20.0 points, 5.7 rebounds, 5.5 assists and 1.5 steals so far with Golden State. “I am because I’m going to play basketball the right way. I’m going to play my game. A lot of people here shoot a ton of 3s. You don’t see me out there shooting a ton of 3s.
“I’m going to do what I do because what I do helps teams win. I’m gonna guard, gonna get some steals, get to the free-throw line, and I’m gonna hit the open guy 10 out of 10 times. And I think that’s why it works here. The only thing (about his new situation) is wanting to be wanted. I’m wanted here. I’m good with that. And this is where I want to be. Real s—.”
The Heat subtext of his perspective is as obvious as his early Warriors impact.
“I see my role clearer than ever,” he continued. “And that’s the thing. Here, everybody knows their role, and they know where the ball is supposed to go, at what time in the game, and that’s a huge difference-maker. Ain’t nobody fighting for shots. Ain’t nobody doing none of that. You get the ball where it needs to go. In the fourth quarter, you slow the ball down, take good shots, take care of the ball, and that’s what it takes to win in this league at a high level. They’ve done it a s— ton of times.
“This is what I’ve been trying to do in the past X amount of years, but now that we’re here, and we get to mix up playing fast and (slowing) the ball down to make sure that we can win, we can do that too.”
Butler has re-energized Curry and Green. But perhaps more indicative of his presence is how he’s lifted the bench players.
The Warriors are owning the non-Curry minutes with Butler at the helm. Brandin Podziemski looks again like the impactful young player they fell in love with last season. Moses Moody’s game has flourished since the trade. Even Quinten Post, the rookie big man who was with Santa Cruz earlier this season, is matching the Warriors’ newfound zeal. The energy is different for the reserves, too.
Such was evident following a dagger of a fast break Sunday. Golden State led by 26 as Butler pushed the ball in transition. He got a foot into the paint, collapsing the Dallas defense, before swinging a pass to Podziemski for a swished 3-pointer from the right corner.
At that point, the Warriors had outscored the Mavericks by 14 points in 10:50 of action with Butler on the court and Curry on the bench. The Warriors are plus-30 over the last six games when Curry sits. Before Butler, the Warriors were minus-90 over the first 51 games when Curry sat.
No. 30 rested the entire fourth quarter Sunday. After Podziemski’s 3, Mavericks coach Jason Kidd called a timeout. He’d seen enough to wave the white flag and sub out his starters. In celebration, Podziesmski ran and jumped on the back of the Warriors’ new star, who grinned with the Jack Harlow lookalike draped around his shoulders.
Witness the impact of Jimmy Butler.
(Photo: Thearon W. Henderson / Getty Images)
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6155572/2025/02/24/jimmy-butler-steve-kerr-warriors-vibes-nba-championship/
