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When Jimmy Butler suffered an ACL injury, his initial thoughts weren’t on basketball but rather on his children.
During a game against the Miami Heat on January 19, the NBA player experienced a significant setback. While attempting to catch the ball late in the third quarter, the 35-year-old fell awkwardly, twisting his right knee.
According to ESPN, Butler, a father of two, remained on the court for several minutes clutching his knee before being assisted off and escorted to the locker room. The Warriors later announced that he would require surgery, though the procedure’s date has not yet been scheduled.
Once inside the locker room, Butler’s attention quickly turned to his family, as recounted by teammate Draymond Green on The Draymond Green Show.
“The first thing he said while sitting in that locker room was, ‘Man, I’m supposed to take my kids to the arcade in the morning,'” Green revealed on the January 22 episode.
“First thing he said, sitting in that locker room was, ‘Man, I’m supposed to take my kids to the arcade in the morning,’” the athlete said on the Thursday, Jan. 22 episode.
Jimmy shares daughter Rylee, 6, and son Brayan, 3, with girlfriend Kaitlin Nowak.
“He said it four different times: ‘I’m not going to be able to take my kids to the arcade in the morning,’” Draymond recalled on the episode, adding that they “talked a little more” before Butler repeated himself again.
“‘Man, I’m supposed to take my kids to the arcade.’ That’s all he kept saying,” Draymond said. “He was just in this state of delirium. Completely delirious. I can only imagine what he felt, but he just kept saying, ‘I’m supposed to take my kids to the arcade.’”
In a June 2023 interview with ABC News, Butler said Rylee and Brayan are his “why” and the reason behind everything he does. “Like everything I do now, I want to make it home to them. I want to make sure they’re safe.”
That same year, when Bleacher Reportasked what he planned to do first after the NBA playoffs, Jimmy didn’t hesitate. “I’m gonna play with my daughter, man. I love her to death, I miss her — I’ve been away for a very long time,” he said. “We’re going to get ice cream, we’re going to the park, we’re doing a lot of different stuff.”