Golden State Warriors rookie Yaxel Lendeborg sent a sharp message to the NBA about Luka Doncic’s behavior after the two exchanged words throughout Wednesday’s season opener against the Los Angeles Lakers.
After Golden State’s 127-105 loss, Lendeborg said that his opinion of the Lakers star changed during his NBA debut.
“I lost all respect (for Doncic),” Lendeborg said. “That was awful. A lot of flopping, a lot of foul-baiting, a lot of praying to the ref. Interesting first game for me, for sure.”
Added Lendeborg: “Me getting frustrated, it’s not about the foul being called,” Lendeborg said. “It’s about him complaining the entire game, and then you get the foul call, and congratulations, bro. And then you talk to me like you did something great? Bro, come on. That’s just weak, you know? It kind of threw me off for a little while, because, like I said, I had so much respect for him. Gone, man. Gone.”
Lendeborg also revealed what he told Doncic during their second-quarter exchange.
“I was telling him he sucks,” Lendeborg said with a smile. “‘You can’t score on me.’ I said it the whole game. I said a couple of cuss words, obviously. That’s why I got the technical and all that, but I was letting him know, because he was laughing and talking, all this because of that one foul call.”
The back-and-forth began after Lendeborg was called for a shooting foul against Doncic late in the second quarter. Their trash talk continued even after the Warriors rookie went to the bench.
Lendeborg eventually received a technical foul with 22 seconds remaining before halftime, and Doncic ultimately gave the Warriors and their rookie a final blow before the half ended, banking in a half-court shot at the buzzer to give Los Angeles a 66-52 lead.
Ed Szczepanski-Imagn Images via Reuters Connect
The Lakers controlled the matchup after halftime, outscoring Golden State 36-16 in the third quarter before closing out a 22-point victory.
Doncic scored 23 points in the first half and finished with 28 points, eight rebounds and seven assists in three quarters. Lendeborg, the No. 11 overall pick in the 2026 NBA Draft, finished his first regular-season NBA game with 12 points, three rebounds, two assists, and one steal.
Golden State returns home to face Memphis on Friday, while Los Angeles hosts the Clippers.
