VanVleet had eerie five-word message for Draymond in heated exchange

Fred VanVleet touched on a concern a lot of Warriors fans might have right about now.

The Rockets guard got into a feisty exchange with Warriors forward Draymond Green at the end of Houston’s 109-94 win over Golden State on Wednesday at Toyota Center before both teams had to be separated on the court.

Fred VanVleet and Draymond Green exchange words during the timeout, and both teams had to be separated pic.twitter.com/srnV45YFqI

— Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) April 24, 2025

The San Francisco Standard’s Tim Kawakami shared on the latest episode of the “Warriors Plus/Minus” podcast what he heard VanVleet told Green in the viral exchange.

“I did hear that the VanVleet-Draymond thing was VanVleet telling Draymond, ‘You better pray Jimmy [Butler’s] back.’ There were a lot of other words in there,” Kawakami said.

VanVleet, of course, is referencing the pelvic injury Butler sustained late in the first quarter that sidelined him for the remainder of the game and will put his status for the remainder of the series in question as the Warriors await the results of his MRI on Thursday in San Francisco.

Butler, almost single-handedly, has transformed the Warriors into a potential title contender since he arrived in a blockbuster trade on Feb. 5 and is a crucial piece to any deep playoff run Golden State hopes to make.

Find the latest Golden State Warriors news, highlights, analysis and more with NBC Sports Bay Area and California.