What does ‘hope’ mean for the Golden State Warriors? Their hunger to continue their dynastic run three years after winning their last title. To fill the gap left behind by Kevin Durant, Andre Iguodala, and Klay Thompson. A fifth chance at the championship for Stephen Curry and Draymond Green. But, until February 8, everything looked kind of bleak. You see, the Dubs were losing their motivation and confidence in the league. Then walked in Jimmy Butler, and everything changed.

So, when some philosopher said: “Once you choose hope, anything’s possible,” he meant this hope that Butler brought back to the Bay Area. A month ago, Steph Curry was giving distressing conferences, barely telling anything good coming out of the repeated losses. Cut to Sunday, Feb.23, the same 36-year-old superstar was hitting ‘Night-Night’ with 2:50 remaining in the third quarter. Taking his sweet revenge on P.J. Washington, who co-opted Curry’s celebration on Feb.12 in Dallas. Stephen Curry never forgets such moments- ‘The Petty King’ some may call him for this.

Who do you blame this confidence on? Whose impact is this shift in the air? Steve Kerr says: “One hundred percent. Jimmy gives us some swagger,” reported Sam Amick and Marcus Thompson of The Athletic. Meanwhile, Draymond Green’s Feb.16 predictions on the TNT airwaves during the All-Star Weekend don’t seem too far-fetched now.

It was fair to question where his boldness came from. The answer? The Warriors who matter most say it’s all about lessons from the championship dreams they’re desperate to keep alive. And now, with Butler in the mix, they see something different. Something bigger. That familiar contender energy is back. “I just know what it looks like,” Draymond Green told The Athletic, doubling down on his claim. All season, the Warriors felt stuck—always “right there” but never quite through. Frustrating, right? But there was a reason.

“And the reason I think we all thought we couldn’t quite get over was because there was a missing piece,” Green added. “That piece isn’t missing anymore. That piece is him.” No more guessing. No more gaps. Just one piece away—and now they have him. So when the Phoenix Suns and the Warriors reportedly agreed on a KD reunion, the ex-Dubs hero clarified that he wasn’t interested. Well, you could call this a divine intervention, but all things led to one grand trade. All things led to the union of Stephen Curry and Jimmy Butler.

Six games in, and the Warriors just dismantled the banged-up Mavericks, 126-102. Poetic, right? After all, Dallas handed them their only loss since Butler arrived—a four-point sting that sparked Washington’s taunt. Safe to say, they got the last word. Since Butler’s arrival on Feb. 8, the Warriors flipped the script.

With him and Green locking things down, they’ve climbed to sixth in both offensive and defensive ratings. Before? They sat at No. 10 and No. 18. Even their net rating jumped from 16th to fifth. Turns out, the missing piece changes everything. But that’s not all. Stephen Curry and the sophomore guard Brandin Podziemski are helping the 35-year-old in easing out one of his problems. Once solved, the Dubs could become the most lethal force of the West (maybe)!

Stephen Curry and Brandin Podziemski are helping Jimmy Butler find his comfort on the court

For Jimmy Butler, it’s all about what these Warriors stand for. In Miami, he spent six seasons wishing for more firepower, dragging the Heat to two Finals with only Bam Adebayo as an All-Star. Now? He’s surrounded by legends like Stephen Curry and Draymond Green who’ve welcomed him with open arms. And just like Green, he’s starting to believe the best is yet to come.

Meanwhile, analysts on the Warriors Plus Minus podcast believe that Jimmy Butler will wait till the playoffs to pull out a 30-point game. But why? “He’s starting to take the mid-range more. He hit one tonight, he just hadn’t taken it. I think it was like he was at six. He does not trust his jumper at all right now. I think that takes a little, I think that’s going to take a little time.” But then, Podz and Butler are working together in symphony, and speaking with the media, the youngster said: “He’s a player who sees the game like me, high IQ like me. So it’s just, it’s revelatory.”

Now coming back to Sunday’s game vs. the Dallas Mavericks, Stephen Curry kicked back for the entire fourth. After Brandin Podziemski’s three, Jason Kidd had seen enough—timeout, starters out, game over. And Podz? He celebrated by jumping on the back of the Warriors’ new star, who just grinned, carrying the Jack Harlow lookalike like a badge of honor.

So while Stephen Curry is bringing the positive energy, channeling the hope for that championship, Brandin Podziemski is channeling the faith and trust that Jimmy Butler needs in the franchise. Surely some places can be worked upon, but for now, the Golden State Warriors are coming back into the main picture. The grand picture of the championship, if you will? And yes, all of this; this shift in confidence, the change in the air, is all credited to that one hooper from the East: Jimmy Butler.