Jimmy Butler on his knee rehab: ‘As soon as I can take the floor, I promise I will be back out there competing’

SAN FRANCISCO — Oct. 14, 2026 — Jimmy Butler still does not have a return date, but he wants Golden State Warriors fans to know where his head is. Nearly nine months after the knee injury that ended his 2025-26 season, the 37-year-old forward gave another update on his rehab from right knee surgery on Wednesday in an interview with Frank Isola.

“As soon as I can take the floor, I promise I will be back out there competing.”

"As soon as I can take the floor, I promise I will be back out there competing."@Warriors star Jimmy Butler joined @TheFrankIsola and provided an update on his rehab from right knee surgery

Catch the full interview here: https://t.co/wpNmjkRYJu pic.twitter.com/7yGObO4owe

— SiriusXM NBA Radio (@SiriusXMNBA) October 14, 2026

Running, dunking and landing softly

Butler tore the ACL in his right knee in January and had to be helped to the locker room the night it happened. He has spent the months since working his way back, and the last few weeks have brought the most visible progress yet. During the Warriors’ training camp in Hawaii, he told Kerith Burke that his workload is finally starting to look like basketball again.

“I’ve started to run. I can dunk. I probably shouldn’t be doing that, but I can. I’m moving in the right direction. I’m also moving at a faster pace. I’m stoked. I’m excited about it because now I’m starting to see the progressions that are leading me back to the basketball court.”

In an earlier conversation this offseason he explained why the dunks are not the part that worries him. The jump is fine, he said; the risk is in the landing, “because that’s where all the force is,” so he has been careful not to come down too hard while the rest of his body catches up with the knee.

The timeline

The Warriors have not set a date. Butler was cleared for light on-court activity in late September, and the team’s hope is to have him back early in 2027. Coach Steve Kerr has floated February, roughly one year after the injury, while making clear the month was an estimate rather than a target: “No idea. I’m just throwing February out there because that’s about a year post-injury. So it will be somewhere around that time.”

General manager Mike Dunleavy Jr. has already ruled Butler out for opening night and the early part of the 2026-27 regular season, which means Golden State will start the year leaning on Stephen Curry, Draymond Green and a rotation still learning Kerr’s new offense.

“Jimmy Damn Butler”

Nobody in the organization seems worried about what kind of player comes back. Owner Joe Lacob put it bluntly when asked about Butler’s return during camp.

“My guess is he’ll come back and be pretty damn good, because he’s Jimmy Damn Butler and he works hard.”

Butler has said the same thing about himself all offseason, insisting he is “right back to who I’ve always been” and that he still has “a couple good years left” in him. Wednesday’s promise was the shortest version yet: the moment the knee lets him, he will be on the floor.