What Butler told Hield during motivational pep talk in Warriors’ win originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
The ongoing friendly feud between Buddy Hield and Jimmy Butler has become an endlessly entertaining side plot to the Warriors’ 2024-25 NBA season.
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Though Butler did not play in the Warriors’ Game 3 win over the Houston Rockets on Saturday, that didn’t stop him from coaching up Hield from the Golden State bench.
Rockets center Steven Adams swiped the ball from Hield in the fourth quarter, leading to a fastbreak and drawn foul on the other end for the veteran big man — who isn’t known for his ability to defend in space.
This provided a perfect opportunity for Butler — whose disdain for Hield’s dribbling already is well-known — to rib and mentor his teammate simultaneously.
“He was talking about me getting my ball picked from Steven Adams,” Hield told NBC Sports Bay Area’s Kerith Burke after the game. “He was telling me, ‘Just go by him.’
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“Me and him are always getting into it, though. He’s my big brother, so he’s good.”
During his postgame press conference, Hield added that Butler simply gave him a look, with the sharpshooter replying that he didn’t want to talk about it.
Of course, Hield immediately took the opportunity to tease his frenemy back when asked about Butler’s bench presence when he’s not playing.
“Terrible, terrible, terrible advice. I just was, like, tuning him out the whole time,” Hield joked, before offering a rare genuine compliment to Butler. “Nah, he’s being good. He’s being positive. He’s telling me how to read drives.”
Saturday’s back-and-forth didn’t stop there, either (check out the caption).
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With Butler expected to return to action for Game 4, expect even more hilarious — and perhaps constructive — interactions between these squabbling allies.
