Last night, when the Dubs decimated the Pelicans on the court, Jimmy Butler put on the coaching hat on the bench. He looked the part, carrying a clipboard and a sketch. Butler, sidelined while recovering from a torn ACL, showed up dressed like a member of Steve Kerr’s coaching staff. Following the game, Kerr and his teammate had something to say about his cosplay.
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Butler arrived in the Warriors’ grey coaching pullover and black pants, carrying a clipboard. He also had a legit game plan drawn up on his board.
‘Pass to Steph ’- written in full caps. Well, he wasn’t wrong though.
“I thought he looked great. Really good-looking sweater,” Kerr said when asked about the cosplay after the Warriors’ 138-87 win.
But he wasn’t entirely pleased with Jimmy Butler.
“He said all the right things, you know, team fouls, how many team fouls we had. Like he was really acting the part. But I also realized he was mocking us. So it hurt a little bit.”
During one of the timeouts, Jimmy Butler addressed the players alongside other coaches. He appeared to deliver an animated lecture as the players returned to their seats. Stephen Curry could barely contain his laughter, while Butler stayed committed to the act, even reaching out to pull De’Anthony Melton closer by his jersey.
Melton had his own response to Butler’s coaching methods.
Asked about the jersey grab after the game, he joked: “He gotta go home. Next time he do something like that, he need to go back home or do something else because he trippin’.”
The routine fits Jimmy Butler’s long-running habit of turning media days and team events into performances.
In 2023, he arrived as “Emo Jimmy,” complete with straightened black hair and piercings. A year earlier, he had appeared with long dreadlock extensions, while his 2024 media-day look featured a retro afro and mustache. Those transformations have become part of his public persona, giving fans a glimpse of the humor behind his famously intense competitive image.
His on-court reputation is built on toughness and an uncompromising approach, but the elaborate disguises show a willingness to make himself the joke. The coaching costume continued that tradition, only this time the performance unfolded during an actual game, in front of his teammates and coaching staff.
Meanwhile, Butler’s mock frustration during the timeout could be a nod to the coaching staff out there.
Anyway, these antics may not last longer, as he has other duties to take care of.
Jimmy Butler is recovering from a torn right ACL, an injury that has sidelined him and left the Warriors without one of their most important two-way players. The original expectation was that his return would be around January or February 2027, but recent progress has reportedly put him ahead of schedule.
Butler has been participating in pregame workouts, although that does not establish a firm return date.
His presence around the team still matters while he works toward a comeback.
The Warriors are winning. Once Butler returns to the mix, it will further elevate the side. Currently, the team is on an 8-0 run, with three of their starters sidelined. Now, with a home stand complete with a clean sweep, the Dubs would look to carry the momentum into the away stretch.
Steve Kerr may have taken a small hit to his pride. But the coach got a front-row view of Butler’s commitment to the joke. Melton, meanwhile, has made his position clear: the temporary assistant should keep his hands off the players.
Until Jimmy Butler returns to the floor, the Warriors may have to put up with a little more coaching from the sidelines.