Over the last decade, the Warriors have solidified themselves as the greatest three-point shooting team ever. That has been their identity ever since Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson took charge. So naturally, when they made a trade to acquire Jimmy Butler at the deadline, there were concerns about his fit with the team. After all, as great a player as he is, Jimmy is not known for his shooting ability. However, his incredible debut last night cleared all doubts and Butler revealed the message he received from his new team that boosted his confidence.

Taking over against the Bulls, Butler went off for 25 points and four assists. And he did it his way. By getting to the free throw line thirteen times and draining eleven of those shots, setting the franchise record for most free throws made in a Warriors debut. When asked if his unique skill set benefits his new team, Jimmy replied, “I think so. As soon as I got here, everybody was telling me to be myself, play my style of basketball and we’ll make it work. I’ll fit in just fine. So, I went out there and did that to the best of my ability and we got a W.”

Sure enough, Jimmy looked right at home as he functioned perfectly under Steve Kerr’s offense. Obviously, a lot of it had to do with playing alongside a threat like Steph, “There’s so much space out there on the floor too that I just get to do what I do best… Game is very very very simple here and they make it so easy for me. I just gotta do my job, put the ball in the basket or get to the free throw line.”

As expected, his epic performance helped end the two-month-long misery that he had been going through while on the Heat roster. His very public feud with the management led to his indefinite suspension and brought a lot of criticism his way. But that’s over now and Butler can focus on what he loves most, Hooping. He added, “If you can’t tell, I’m very very joyful” obviously referring to his older confession of losing his joy in Miami. Well, Jimmy was not the only player who found his joy last night. Even Steph rubbed off from that energy and had one hell of a night. Following a slow first half, he went off for 24 points in the third quarter and led his team to a huge comeback win. And the scary part is, Butler and Steph might just be getting started!

Jimmy Butler’s best is yet to come as he makes shocking admission after Warriors debut

As great as Jimmy’s debut was last night, he was nowhere close to his best form. Revealing how he felt on the court, he said post-game, “Tired. Extremely tired.” Well, he had not played in an NBA game for nearly three weeks because of the Heat suspension, affecting his conditioning. However, the superstar is optimistic about getting in game shape soon. He said, “I gotta do a ton more of conditioning but I’ll get it back. It’s only a matter of time.”

Of course, that’s great news for the Bay Area franchise because if Jimmy can keep up what he did last night, they could turn their season around and become legitimate contenders. And the energy his arrival has brought will also help other players step up their game like it did with Steph. Are you excited about what’s to come?