Heading into the 2025 NBA playoffs, the Golden State Warriors were one of the best teams in the league, led by their new-look star duo of Steph Curry and Jimmy Butler. The Warriors were 22-5 in the regular season when Curry and Butler shared the court, but their success could not carry over to the postseason.
After escaping the Houston Rockets in the first round, the Warriors fell short to the Minnesota Timberwolves in round two. Superstar point guard Steph Curry suffered a hamstring strain in Game 1 of their second-round series, and his co-stars were not able to keep up in his absence.
Golden State Warriors forward Jimmy Butler III (10) drives to the basket past Minnesota Timberwolves forward Jaden McDaniels
May 14, 2025; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Golden State Warriors forward Jimmy Butler III (10) drives to the basket past Minnesota Timberwolves forward Jaden McDaniels (3) in the second half during game five of the second round for the 2025 NBA Playoffs at Target Center. Mandatory Credit: Jesse Johnson-Imagn Images / Jesse Johnson-Imagn Images
In four playoff games without Curry, Butler averaged 20.3 points, 6.5 rebounds, and 5.0 assists on 45.8/33.3/76.7 shooting splits, but the Warriors needed him to step up much more offensively. NBA legend and former Denver Nuggets star Carmelo Anthony got honest about what happened to Butler in the playoffs.
"When you first get to the team, you have this level of excitement and adrenaline, and like everybody's excited and it just gets going. But when the s**t dies down and settles in, when the house settles in, and now we got to make this playoff run, the excitement is there, the adrenaline is there, but now, you don't know how Steph Curry operates at that level.
"So the more Steph Curry digs into that well, and you don't have that experience of Steph digging in that deeper into that well and what happens with that."
"The time period was short, I would say. I'll give them that," Anthony continued. "They made a hell of a move. They tried it. We probably would still be talking about them if Steph is not hurt. We've seen Jimmy at the height of what he can do, his possibilities, his talents, his will to win.
"But when you implement that to a system who's a dynasty, and they have the way they play and no matter what, you have to find your way."
The duo of Butler and Curry proved to be effective enough to compete for a championship, but the unfortunate timing of Curry's injury made it much more challenging to get to that point. Still, when the Warriors needed Butler the most, he could not step up.