From the NBA to Santa Cruz: Jimmy Butler Wants a G League Game Before His Warriors Return, and Steve Kerr Loves It

Most NBA stars coming back from a major injury want their first game back to be under the brightest lights possible. Jimmy Butler wants his to be in Santa Cruz.

The Golden State Warriors forward, still working his way back from a torn ACL, told The Athletic's Nick Friedell that he plans to play at least one game for the Santa Cruz Warriors, the club's G League affiliate, before he returns to the NBA, Yahoo Sports reported on Friday. RealGM relayed the same plan from Butler, describing it as a rehab stint in the minor league before he rejoins Golden State.

Butler tore the ligament on Jan. 19 and still has no official return date, according to Yahoo Sports. Any trip to Santa Cruz would also need clearance from the Warriors' medical staff, so the plan is a promise from the player, not yet a team decision.

If Butler needed a vote of confidence from his head coach, he got it in a hurry. Steve Kerr immediately embraced the idea, Heavy reported, and compared it to baseball, where players routinely go down to the minor leagues for a few games on a rehab assignment before rejoining the big-league club. Kerr said the plan makes perfect sense, while noting that he had never really seen a star player choose to go to the G League, according to Heavy. He also said he plans to be in the building to watch, as long as the Warriors do not have a game that night.

Bleacher Report also reported Butler's pledge to suit up for the Warriors' G League affiliate while he rehabs the knee.

Not everyone in the front office may be as enthusiastic. Butler joked that general manager Mike Dunleavy Jr. might push back, and the New York Post reported that Butler playfully said he would be willing to fight his own GM to make the trip happen. It was clearly a joke, but it also made the point: Butler has made up his mind.

Yahoo Sports also noted the rare precedent for a player of his profile taking a rehab game in the G League. Serge Ibaka played four G League games on a rehab assignment in 2021, and The Athletic reported that Butler would be the biggest star ever to play a G League game while rehabbing, Yahoo said.

I love this story, and not only because it is fun. For years, NBA fans have complained, with good reason, about stars who rest healthy legs on national TV nights and treat the regular season like an inconvenience. Here is a veteran star volunteering to head down to the G League and play in a small arena on the California coast because he believes it is the right way to get ready.

That is humility. It is also a smart way to prepare. Practice reps and scrimmages cannot fully copy the speed, contact and pressure of a real game, which is exactly why baseball has used minor-league rehab assignments for generations. Getting the rust off against hungry young players fighting for an NBA chance seems a lot wiser than finding out what the knee can handle in a close fourth quarter against a playoff contender.

There is also a message for the young players in Santa Cruz. Many of them are one phone call away from the NBA, and plenty will never get that call. Having a star walk into their locker room and play by the same rules could be the most memorable night of their season.

Nothing is scheduled yet. Butler still needs the medical staff's green light, and the Warriors have not announced a return timeline. If the doctors sign off and the front office goes along, Kerr has already told everyone where he will be that night.

For a franchise that has leaned on its veterans for years, a little old-fashioned grit from one of them, starting in the minor leagues, might be exactly the spark Golden State needs.