Hours after Jimmy Butler suffered a torn right ACL against the Miami Heat on Monday night, he tapped into his camera roll for a classic meme.
The Golden State Warriors forward posted an edited photo of him on Instagram dressed in vintage military-style attire with a message written above it: “general soreness.”
The meme went viral during the 2018-19 season, which coincided with Butler requesting a trade from the Minnesota Timberwolves in September 2018. Butler missed an Oct. 31, 2018, game with what then-Timberwolves head coach and president of basketball operations Tom Thibodeau deemed “general soreness.” Butler missed another game four days later for precautionary reasons.
Thus, the meme of Butler as an army general of sorts circulated on social media. With his latest injury sidelining him for the remainder of the 2025-26 season, Butler chose to make light of the situation as only he could.
He reflected on the meme in an interview with NBA journalist Chris Haynes in January 2019, saying that his financial adviser “thinks that is the funniest thing in the world.” Minnesota wound up dealing Butler to the Philadelphia 76ers in November 2018.
Golden State acquired the 36-year-old forward from Miami, Butler’s next stop after Philadelphia, last February. Since he joined the Warriors, the team has gone 2-5 in games without him compared with 46-22 with him, according to ESPN Research. Golden State also has outscored opponents by 185 points with Butler on the court this season.
Butler injured his right knee during the second quarter of Golden State’s game Monday night. He leaped to grab a pass from teammate Brandin Podziemski but landed awkwardly as Heat guard Davion Mitchell defended him. Butler crashed to the floor before being helped off the court by his teammates.
The six-time NBA All-Star averaged 20 points, 5.6 rebounds and 4.9 assists this season.
