The Warriors entered the 2025–26 NBA season with confidence. Jimmy Butler’s arrival the previous year had changed the tone inside the locker room. A second-round playoff run raised hope across the league. With a full offseason to build chemistry, Golden State expected progress, not stagnation.
Instead, the halfway point has brought discomfort. On Tuesday, the Warriors sat at 22–19. The record placed them near the bottom of the Western Conference playoff picture. The numbers showed a team stuck in between. Not bad enough to reset. Not good enough to contend. Butler made it clear he sees the danger in that space.
Jimmy Butler Says Mediocrity is the Worst Place to Live
Following Golden State’s win over the Portland Trail Blazers on Jan. 14 in San Francisco, Butler met with reporters inside Chase Center. When asked to describe the Warriors’ season so far, he did not hesitate.
“Mediocre,” Butler said during postgame media availability after the Portland game.
He expanded on that answer moments later:
“We need to win more games, lose less games, that’s just where we are,” Butler said. “I think it’s the worst place to be, is to be mediocre. Yes, it can go either way, but nobody wants to be just average.”
Jimmy calls the Warriors “mediocre” and he’s right:
“We need to win more games, lose less games, that’s just where we are. I think it’s the worst place to be — is to be mediocre. Yes it can go either way, but nobody wants to be just average.”pic.twitter.com/iYXTb2NffK
— aly ✶ (@jinthirty) January 14, 2026
His words matched the numbers. Golden State ranked 16th in offensive rating and 10th in defensive rating as of January 14, according to sources. The team had shown flashes, including winning nine of its last 13 games, but consistency remained absent.
Dubs had lost a few matchups to undermanned rivals earlier in the season. Those nights lingered. Butler referenced that frustration when he spoke about drifting away from what works.
“We know what we’re capable of, but we don’t do it all the time,” Butler said that night. “We try stuff just because we can. We should never do that.”
On Tuesday night, JB hit 16 points, going 5-for-7 from the field, pulling down 6 rebounds while dishing out 5 assists. On the opposite end.
Additionally, Steph Curry continued to fuel the attack, averaging 28.8 points per game, even at 37 years old.
Golden State’s record at the same point last season stood at 21–20. The improvement exists. Butler simply does not believe it is enough. For a team built on standards, mediocrity is not neutral. Butler made sure that message landed.
