During the first half of this NBA season, the Golden State Warriors looked to be in gradual decay, and Stephen Curry looked like perhaps he was finally on the downside of his career.
But the Warriors then made one of the biggest trades of the season by acquiring six-time All-Star forward Jimmy Butler in early February, and since then, they have been hot.
They have won 22 of their last 28 games, and they entered Wednesday in sixth place in the Western Conference with a chance to finish the regular season higher than that.
Butler’s arrival seems to have reinvigorated Curry, and as StatMamba pointed out, he’s averaging 26.7 points a game with a 66.0% true shooting percentage since the All-Star break.
He has thus been the most efficient player in the league who has averaged at least 25 points a game during that time.
Steph Curry is still the most efficient 25-PPG scorer in the entire NBA since All-Star break.
26.7 PPG on 66.0% TS pic.twitter.com/4p1NeUf3Wl
— StatMamba (@StatMamba) April 9, 2025
Prior to Butler’s arrival, it looked like Golden State’s days of being competitive, let alone being a championship contender, were long gone.
They badly needed offensive firepower and a legitimate second star next to Curry, whose scoring and shooting efficiency were well below his season averages before the Butler trade.
Now, about two months after Butler came to the Bay, Golden State is being talked about as a legitimate championship contender.
For all the talk about Curry’s great play and what Butler has given them, their defense has been outstanding since the All-Star break — in fact, they have ranked second in defensive efficiency since that time.
Perhaps happy days have returned for the Warriors and their proud fans.
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