Golden State Warriors rookie Yaxel Lendeborg only needed one game to start a rivalry with Los Angeles Lakers star Luka Doncic.
Doncic and Lendeborg had plenty of words for each other during this Wednesday’s season opener at Crypto.com Arena. Once the game went final, Lendeborg made it clear that he no longer has any respect for Doncic.
“I had a lot of respect for him [because] I didn’t really watch the NBA much. I just watched highlights and seen him kill people,” Lendeborg told reporters. “But being in it firsthand and seeing all the whining and complaining, I lost all respect. That was awful. Like me getting frustrated, it’s not about the foul being called, it’s about him complaining the entire game. And then you get the foul call – congratulations. Then you talk to me like you did something great. C’mon, dog. That s— is weak. It kind of threw me off because I have so much respect for him. Gone, man. Gone.”
Lendeborg then shared some of the trash talk he had for Doncic during Wednesday night’s game.
“He can’t score on me. You talk but you can’t score on me. I said it the whole game. I said a couple cuss words, obviously. That’s why I got the technical. But I was letting him know.”
Justine Willard-Imagn Images.
Yaxel had success against Luka.
Even though Doncic scored 28 points in the Lakers’ 127-105 win over the Warriors, he didn’t have a ton of success when Lendeborg was his primary defender.
According to ESPN’s tracking stats, Doncic went 1-of-6 from the field when guarded by Lendeborg.
“He was talking crazy,” Doncic said when asked about Lendeborg. “But I wasn’t trying to talk back. This season, I’m not trying to get techs.”
The Lakers and Warriors will meet again on Oct. 30 at the Chase Center.
