The man who once limped to the free-throw line in the 2025 playoffs on a pelvic contusion is back to his old tricks. The basketball world took notice when the six-time NBA All-Star took to Instagram to troll fans as the 2025-26 postseason gets underway with the Play-In tournament.
He posted what appeared to be an official injury report of himself. The post came with the caption “@shams report this,“ accompanied by a laughing emoji. The message claimed he was “listed as doubtful for Wednesday’s Play-In game against the LA Clippers. “I am listed as doubtful for wednesday’s game against clippers stay tuned for updates.”
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Butler tore his ACL in mid-January. With the severity of the injury and the duration of recovery, he was expected not to return this season. With that in mind, Mr Playoffs will not be available for the Play-In Tournament or the NBA playoffs should Golden State advance. So no, Playoff Jimmy is not suiting up on Wednesday. The Instagram post was a trolling masterpiece, and deliberately written in the language of an official NBA injury report, with ESPN insider Shams Charania, who was the one to first break the news of Butler’s season-ending injury back in January, tagged.
He tore the ACL in his right knee during the third quarter of a 135-112 Warriors victory over the Miami Heat on Jan. 19. It came after he landed awkwardly following a collision with Heat player Davion Mitchell. The Warriors later confirmed that he underwent successful surgery and would “begin rehabilitation immediately,” with the team expecting him to make a full recovery.
The timing of the post, however, is no accident. Butler turned heads on Sunday, which was the final day of the regular season, when he appeared on the court without crutches before his team’s game against the Clippers. He attempted a 3-point shot during Steph Curry’s warmup routine, and the Warriors posted the moment to their official social media channels, writing, “Road to recovery. Good to see you, Jimmy Butler.”
(This is a developing story…)
