Breaking News: Warriors’ Jimmy Butler fires wild response to Devin Booker question
Golden State Warriors veteran Jimmy Butler gave Phoenix Suns All-Star Devin Booker quite the compliment when asked who would win in a 1-on-1 battle. Ahead of Butler and Stephen Curry’s first Warriors training camp together, a YouTuber asked Jimmy who would win in a 1-on-1 matchup up to 11 against Booker. Butler responded with not only Booker winning but that it would be in blowout fashion, per Brandon Awadis’ Twitch. Devin Booker. 11-0,” Butler said, giving Booker a ton of credit as a scorer.
Booker averaged 25.6 points on 46.1% shooting, a career-best 7.1 assists, and 0.9 steals per game last season. Still, it’s surprising to see Butler predict such a lopsided score. While Butler’s days of making All-Defensive Teams are behind him (2014-18, 2021), the 35-year-old wing is still known for his defensive presence, and efficient scoring.
Butler also averaged 17.9 points on 47.6% shooting, 5.9 assists, 5.4 rebounds, and 1.4 steals in 30 games for the Warriors last season. After the trade from the Miami Heat, coach Erik Spoelstra told Steve Kerr Butler will be great for him and Golden State. At Jimmy’s stage of his career, Spoelstra reminded Kerr of Andre Iguodala’s role as the Warriors’ critical veteran who led them to a championship as NBA Finals MVP in 2015, per The San Francisco Standard’s Tim Kawakami. “(Heat coach) Erik Spoelstra told me immediately, he said he’s going to be great for you,” Kerr said . “And I know Spo really well from the last couple of summers, and I trust him. I believed him, and he was right. Within a couple of days of his arrival, Jimmy was so easy to speak with.
Warriors All-Star Stephen Curry still sees he, Jimmy Butler, and Draymond Green, building off of what was cut short last season due to Curry’s left hamstring injury. Still, Curry expects to see growth between last year’s first-round exit and 2025-26, he said, per NBC Sports Bay Area’s Monte Poole. “I know I got hurt. But you just want to build off that for another year to build chemistry with Jimmy. You know Draymond will do his thing,” Curry said. “Hopefully, some of our young guys are able to take another step. That’s every-year process.”