Former teammates Kevin Love and Jimmy Butler came onto the court at Chase Center Saturday night as opponents, but there is a bond between the two that goes beyond the lines drawn by jerseys and team names.
The two talked before the game, hugged each other just as the game was about to tip off and then when they got tied up in the fourth quarter, jabbed and joked with one another like they were schoolyard kids.
“Anybody that’s been in the trenches with me on any organization and any team, that’s like a brother, a brotherhood for life,” Butler said on Saturday after the Golden State Warriors beat the Utah Jazz, 123-114.
“And he kept me sane in a lot of different ways throughout my career. I’m very grateful for K Love. That’s my man through and through, so it’s always good to compete against him.”
In early 2024, Butler’s father died after a battle with a terminal illness. Butler’s struggle with balancing the season and his grief was a central storyline in the first season of the Netflix series Starting 5.
Outside of the Netflix interviews, Butler has preferred not to talk publicly about the loss of his father, it being painful topic he’d rather not delve into, though he leaned on teammates and those close to him at the time and continues to do so.
Just over a year later, Love’s father died, also after a long battle with a terminal illness, and Butler stepped in as an important part of Love’s support system.
“We’ll be lifelong friends,” Love said of his former Miami Heat teammate.“With him and I it’s bigger than basketball. We both saw each other through the loss of our fathers and we’re connected in that way more than basketball.
“I think that’s what’s kind of lost in all of it, is that obviously this game brought us together, but off the floor, it brought us even closer with that.”
Love has been open about the difficulty of making it through an NBA season while also tending to and dealing with an ailing loved one, but on Saturday, he opened up about how impactful it was to have someone by his side who had gone through something similar and could relate on a deeper level.
“It’s unbelievable,” Love said. “You’re able to go to the depths of places that you want to go and be able to go through all the emotions and still be looked at as somebody who’s strong and who’s a warrior.
“Those are the people that you want in your corner, and Jimmy was one of those for me. I hope he would consider the same for myself to him. I think we all deserve that.”
Midway through the fourth quarter Saturday, Love and Butler tussled under the basket and fought for the ball before they both fell to the floor and a jump ball was called.
Love jokingly kicked Butler’s back as he was being helped up off the floor, and then the two trash talked before setting up for their jump ball.
The slapped at each other’s hands before official Bill Kennedy released the ball. This time, Butler won.
“It was fun competing against him and just (seeing) that he’s happy,” Love said. “Throughout the course of season there’s up and downs, but he’s found himself in a spot where he’s found some peace and found some happiness.”
The Warriors and Jazz will face off two more times this season, both in Utah at the Delta Center, on January 28 and March 9.