Following the Golden State Warriors’ 119-109 season-opening win over the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday night, Warriors star Jimmy Butler revealed the bet he made with teammate Draymond Green.
While speaking to reporters after the game, Butler divulged that he bet Green he would have a higher free-throw percentage than Stephen Curry this season:
When asked by a reporter if he believes he can come out on the winning side of the bet, Butler said, “Of course I think I can.”
Curry was later informed of the bet by reporters and asked if it is “plausible” for Butler to shoot a higher percentage from the line. With a smile, Curry replied, “No chance.”
Over the course of his 15-year NBA career, Butler has consistently been a strong free-throw shooter, making 84.4 percent of his attempts from the charity stripe overall.
However, Curry is the all-time NBA leader in free-throw shooting percentage at 91.2 percent, and he has led the league in that category five times, including last season when he shot 93.3 percent.
In qualifying seasons, that was the second-best mark of Curry’s illustrious career, behind only the 93.4 percent he shot in 2010-11.
Both Butler and Curry got off to perfect starts Tuesday night with Butler going 16-for-16 from the line and Curry going 8-for-8.
While they are technically tied, the fact that Butler made all 16 of his free-throw attempts against the Lakers means he has a bit more margin for error moving forward than Curry does.
As strong as Butler has always been from the line, he has never shot better than 87.0 percent in a season. That could prove to be an issue, as the only time Curry made fewer than 88.5 percent of his foul shots in a season was 2011-12 when injuries limited him to only 26 games.
Although Butler is 36 and Curry is 37, they both continue to play at a high level, which is why they managed to reach the second round of the playoffs last season.
The Warriors will continue to go as Butler and Curry go, and they both excelled in Tuesday’s win, as Butler led the team with 31 points, while Curry added 23 points.
Butler and Curry may not necessarily need any additional motivation outside of chasing a championship late in their careers, but perhaps the bet will give both of them an extra push to lock in even more than usual at the free-throw line.
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