Why Jimmy Butler's Warriors Teammates Were All Laughing at Him After His Injury

Jimmy Butler went down with a knee injury on Monday night as the Warriors took down the Heat at the Chase Center. It didn’t look good when it happened and a few hours later ESPN’s Shams Charania reported the All-Star forward tore his ACL, which means he’s done for the season. It’s a devastating development and one that will play a big role in shaping the Western Conference playoff picture, as well as the February 5 trade deadline.

However, the Warriors didn’t look all that devastated after Butler went down. In fact, some viewers may have realized there were multiple players laughing when Butler was on the floor. The above photo captures Buddy Hield and Brandin Podziemski cracking up while their teammate appears to be in great pain on the ground. It’s an odd juxtaposition given the gravity of the situation.

Butler can be blamed for that. Afterwards his fellow Warriors revealed the star was still cracking wise after getting hurt and made his teammates grin with his levity despite what just happened.

“He was still cracking jokes over there while he was on the ground,” Steph Curry told the media afterwards. “In true Jimmy fashion, always gonna have a good time no matter what the situation is. I do love that, respect that part of his personality. Even in the worst moment he’s still having a good time. He was trying to get to the free throw line. He said it was two shots.”

Another teammate, Buddy Hield, said Butler was in “great spirits” as he left the court, which seemed to be confirmed by broadcast video of the star making a funny face while he limped to the locker room.

Jimmy Butler joking around after tearing his ACL pic.twitter.com/ZEfddy4FlW https://t.co/o1YxqJEngu
— Ballislife.com (@Ballislife) January 20, 2026

A hot mic picked up the conversation between Butler and his teammates while he was on the ground and it's pretty great.

The NBA app left the mic on when Jimmy Butler got injured 💀💀

Jimmy Butler: That looks nasty huh

Buddy Hield: *can't translate what he's saying*

Jimmy Butler: Shut ya b*tch ass up..... oh my knee pic.twitter.com/MNi62gq7My
— Ahmed/The Ears/IG: BigBizTheGod 🇸🇴 (@big_business_) January 20, 2026

It is obviously a terrible turn of events for the Warriors and Butler. The veteran is 36 years old and will face a long road back to the court. In the meantime Golden State must figure out how to replace his production; Butler averaged 20 points per game in 38 appearances this season.

There won’t be easy decisions for anybody involved but it seems the Dubs can count on Butler making everyone laugh despite it all.