“Got the bay jumping” - Eagles legend highlights Jimmy Butler’s impact for Stephen Curry’s Warriors

An iconic Philadelphia Eagles running back is praising one of the NBA’s best defensive players who has made an instant impression with his new team.

In February, Jimmy Butler was traded to the Golden State Warriors in a five-team deal. The Warriors are 14-1 in Butler’s first 15 appearances since moving to the Bay in Oakland. Former NFL running back LeSean McCoy praised Butler's impact on his team.

"Jimmy got the bay jumping," McCoy wrote on X on Sunday.

Butler's presence has been a huge benefit to the Warriors' Steph Curry, who scored 28 points in their narrow 97-94 victory over the New York Knicks on Saturday.

Curry and Draymond Green were critical to the Warriors’ success before Butler’s arrival. But the small forward out of Marquette has enabled coach Steve Kerr to give those star players a little more rest during a game.

Since Butler’s arrival, the Warriors have outscored their opponents by 33 points when Curry isn’t on the court and 39 points when Green isn’t. That’s a huge contrast from before he came to Golden State, when the Warriors were outscored by 90 points when Curry wasn’t in the game and 98 when Green wasn’t.

Thanks to his contributions, the Warriors have moved up to sixth in the Western Conference and are just two games behind the Los Angeles Lakers for fifth.

Butler’s immediate impact should come as no surprise, given that he’s done that with every NBA team he’s played for. In his first month with the Minnesota Timberwolves, Butler averaged 16.3 points, 5.7 rebounds and 4.3 assists.

He had an average of 18.8 points, 4.8 rebounds and 2.8 assists in his first month with the Philadelphia 76ers, in 2018. Butler averaged 18.8 points with 5.5 rebounds and 6.3 assists in his first month with the Miami Heat.

The Timberwolves were 10-5 in his first 15 games with them, the Sixers were 11-4 in that same span with Butler, and the Heat were 12-3 after 15 games with Butler.

LeSean McCoy’s impact in the NFL

If there’s an NFL player who can appreciate what it’s like to make an immediate impact, it’s LeSean McCoy. The Pittsburgh product did that with the Eagles, breaking the all-time franchise rushing record in 2009 with 637 yards on the ground, helping Philly make the playoffs.

He’d go on to have three 1,000-yard campaigns with the Eagles and lead the league in rushing yards in 2013 (1,607). In his first season with the Buffalo Bills, he had 895 rushing yards, which might have been a lot more if not for an early hamstring strain that season. He’d have two more 1,000-yard campaigns in his career, both with the Bills.

He participated in their playoff run in 2017. In the latter part of his career, he made the playoffs with the Kansas City Chiefs and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, winning the Super Bowl in the 2019 and 2020 campaigns.

McCoy holds four Eagles franchise records. One is for total touchdowns in a single season (20 in 2011), most rushing touchdowns in a single season (17 in 2011), most yards from scrimmage in a single season (2,146 in 2013) and most career rushing yards (6,792).

He was inducted into the Eagles Hall of Fame on Nov. 3, 2024.