Jimmy Butler III #10 of the Golden State Warriors is helped off the court after he collided with Davion Mitchell #45 of the Miami Heat and injured his knee during the third quarter at Chase Center on January 19, 2026 in San Francisco. Ezra Shaw Getty Images
On the same night the Golden State Warriors welcomed back Miami Heat forward Andrew Wiggins to the Bay Area, the Warriors lost the player it traded Wiggins to acquire nearly a year ago.
Ex-Heat and current Warriors forward Jimmy Butler needed to be helped to the locker room after landing awkwardly while trying to catch a pass over Heat guard Davion Mitchell in the third quarter of Monday’s matchup. Butler immediately fell to the court, let out a painful scream and grabbed his right knee.
An MRI on Butler’s right knee taken after the Warriors’ 135-112 win over the Heat on Monday night at Chase Center revealed a season-ending torn ACL.
Butler seemed to be on his way to a big night against his former team, totaling 17 points on 6-of-11 shooting from the field and 5-of-5 shooting from the foul line, three rebounds, four assists and two steals in 21 minutes before exiting Monday’s contest in the third quarter.
“You never like to see a situation like that, especially with somebody as tough as he is,” Warriors star guard Stephen Curry said.
The Heat traded a then-disgruntled Butler to the Warriors on Feb. 6 last season. Miami acquired Wiggins, Kyle Anderson and a top-10 protected 2025 first-round pick (ended up turning into rookie guard Kasparas Jakucionis) from Golden State and Mitchell from the Toronto Raptors in the deal.
The trade put an end to a damaging few weeks for the team-player relationship between the Heat and Butler. There was a trade request from Butler, three suspensions without pay issued by the Heat and an airing of grievances against each other along the way before the trade.
Butler’s relationship with the team took a turn during the 2024 offseason when Heat president Pat Riley publicly challenged Butler to be available for more games, and the Heat declined to give Butler a two-year, $113 million contract extension.
Butler, 36, went on to sign a two-year max extension worth $111 million with the Warriors following his move to Golden State — the same extension that he once wanted from the Heat. This extension pays Butler $54.1 million this season and $56.8 million for next season.
But now Butler is faced with an ACL injury that usually takes a calendar year to return from.
Butler averaged 20 points, 5.6 rebounds, 4.9 assists and 1.4 steals per game in 38 appearances for the Warriors before Monday’s season-ending injury.
“You can’t replace Jimmy,” Warriors guard Buddy Hield said. “But as we all know, it’s always next man up. You can’t pout, you can’t put your head down. Another opportunity for somebody to step up.”
Former Golden State Warriors player, Andrew Wiggins #22 of the Miami Heat, waves to the crowd during a ceremony honoring him before their game with the Warriors at Chase Center on January 19, 2026 in San Francisco. Ezra Shaw Getty Images
On the other end of the spectrum, there was the happiness and the gratitude of Wiggins on Monday in his first game back at Chase Center since the move to Miami.
Wiggins had already played against the Warriors twice since the trade, but both of those games came in Miami. Monday marked the first time Wiggins played the Warriors in San Francisco.
The Warriors played a tribute video for Wiggins just before Monday’s game, and he received a loud ovation from the Chase Center crowd.
“It was a great tribute,” Wiggins said, with the Heat playing the second game of its five-game West Coast trip on Tuesday night against the Sacramento Kings at Golden 1 Center. “Definitely meant a lot to see all the love in the building, all the excitement, all the old faces, everything that comes with it. But it was great. It was a moment I’ll cherish. You don’t get too many of these.”
Wiggins turned in a solid performance in his return to his former NBA home, finishing the loss with 18 points on 6-of-14 shooting from the field and 2-of-7 shooting on threes, five rebounds and one assist. But Wiggins, 30, scored all 18 of his points in the first half, as he was held scoreless in the second half.
“He had some great moments here, particularly during that championship run,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said of Wiggins. “So we’re just grateful that we have him. He’s been doing so much for us on both ends of the court. I think as a complete game and all the responsibilities, you can make a case, this is the best that he’s played in his career because of all those responsibilities he has for us.”
Wiggins, the No. 1 pick in the 2014 NBA Draft, spent parts of six seasons with the Warriors before being traded to the Heat midway through last season. As a member of the Warriors, Wiggins was voted into the 2022 NBA All-Star Game as a starter and went on to log the second-most minutes for Golden State during the 2022 playoff run that ended in an NBA championship.
“You can’t help but smile when you see Wiggs,” Curry said. “He just has a presence about him. I love the celebration. It seems so long ago, but you realize how much he meant to our organization over the years, especially with that championship. It being his first time back, I’m glad he got the reception that he deserved because he’ll be a legend in Warriors history for a lot of reasons.”
The Warriors lost that legend when they traded him nearly a year ago. And on Monday, the Warriors also lost Butler for the rest of the season.