NBA action is back on TV as the Warriors face the Lakers in an action-packed preseason game. And Draymond Green began the season by staying true to his erratic and aggressive impression on the fans as he got into a heated exchange with Jarred Vanderbilt during the first half of the game.
There were ten minutes left in the second quarter when Draymond Green set a screen for Stephen Curry on Vanderbilt, who fell to the floor as a result of that screen. While Vanderbilt was on the floor, Green was oblivious to his position as he tracked back on defense without turning out. Consequently, Green tripped over Vanderbilt’s foot and fell.
The Warriors’ veteran immediately got up and rushed to say a few words to Vanderbilt, seemingly as if he thought Vanderbilt did that intentionally. The officials eventually had to intervene before things got out of hand and separated the players.
— Is this a work or shoot, brother? (@ShootOrWork) October 6, 2025
NBA fans saw the Warriors veteran’s reaction to the incident on social media, and it felt like a typical response from Green to most players. While some of them called him “washed” and said he does not deserve to be in the league anymore, some fans saw it as the mark of an exciting return of NBA action.
“Send Draymond to Athens already. Get him out of my league, go play in Greece.”
“Draymond back in mid-season form, already starting fights and getting ejections.”
“Draymond, it’s only the season opener. Chill, man.”
“It’s preseason for Christ’s sake.”
“Another year of Draymond and his f***ery.”
“Entering 2026, and Draymond is still a dirty player who’s shocked.”
The Warriors’ veteran played only in the first half of the game, as the Warriors had decided that they would only use their starters in the first half. He finished the game with two points, three rebounds, and five assists in 14 minutes played. Green shot 16.7% from the floor (one of six) and missed both his three-point shots.
Most fans believed Vanderbilt was not at fault in this incident. The Lakers’ rotation player actually impressed fans during the game with his dominant display, especially pulling out a move from his bag that no one knew he could do: an eurostep finish after a behind-the-back dribble while being heavily guarded by the Warriors’ Quinten Post. That move seriously caught some fans’ attention as it went viral on social media.
Never in a million years did I think Vando can ever pull off a move like this pic.twitter.com/Q0yvDRKfBI
— ²³𝙻𝚎𝙱𝚛𝚘𝚗𝚌𝚑𝚒𝚝𝚒𝚜🏀☄️🌎💞 (@BronGotGame) October 6, 2025
The Lakers’ player finished the game by stuffing the box score with nine points, seven rebounds, four assists, and three steals. While the Lakers’ highlight player in this game was Gabe Vincent, who seemingly had a three-point face-off with Curry in the first half, he finished the game with 16 points and five assists, while making three of his seven shots from beyond the arc.
Despite such positive signs from the Lakers, the Warriors seemed to be well in control of this fixture after the second quarter. Their starters ended the first half with a very strong run, which then gave them comfortable momentum going into the second half to create a good separation for themselves until the beginning of the fourth quarter. Considering that the Lakers mostly played their reserves, this early blowout was expected.
However, the Lakers managed to cut it to a single-digit difference in the final two minutes of the game following a banked three from Christian Koloko, which forced a Warriors timeout to cap off a 12-2 run (100-108). Unfortunately, it seems that was not enough as the Lakers came up short 103-111 to lose their second game in a row during the preseason. But seeing the same antics from Draymond on the court has created the hype that the action-packed regular season is just around the corner.
