The Golden State Warriors rookie Yaxel Lendeborg has revealed the biggest lesson from his defensive assignment of Luka Doncic during their regular-season opener on Wednesday night.
According to Lendeborg, guarding Doncic gave him much-needed confidence to guard anybody in the league. Notably, the two got heated with each other during the game.
“This game for sure gave me a lot of confidence in being able to guard superstars. I’m gonna learn a lot more about the foul baiting as soon as possible,” Yaxel said after the Warriors-Lakers season opener.
“I kind of learned more into this game as well, but it’s like, I was very like, worried coming into the game, thinking he was going to just get all his points on me. But it was eye-opening for me. I think I did a great job defending. So, I definitely look forward to getting more matchups. Hopefully not as foul-baiting as this guy, but we’ll see how it goes.”
“This game for sure gave me a lot of confidence into being able to guard superstars. I’m gonna learn a lot more about the foul baiting as soon as possible. I kind of learned more
How Yaxel Lendeborg Defended Luka Doncic
Lendeborg found notable success as the primary defender of Doncic, holding the Lakers star to a mere 1-of-9 shooting, according to tracking metrics from the floor.
However, the matchup quickly devolved into a contentious, physical, and verbal battle. Throughout the game, the rookie trash-talked Doncic, going as far as repeatedly telling Doncic that “he sucks” and “can’t score on me.”
Tempers ultimately flared late in the second quarter when Doncic baited Lendeborg into a shooting foul near the top of the key. Following the whistle, intense jawing led to Lendeborg being hit with a technical foul.
Doncic immediately capitalized on the momentum, answering the rookie’s trash talk by drilling a spectacular, buzzer-beating half-court shot to close out the first half. He then pointed directly at Lendeborg to celebrate.
Doncic finished with a game-high 28 points and steered the Lakers to a dominant 127-105 blowout victory over the Warriors.
Yaxel Lendeborg Had No More Respect For Luka Doncic
After the game, the 24-year-old rookie Lendeborg said he has lost all respect to Doncic after everything that happened in his first-ever NBA regular season game.
“I had a lot of respect for him,” he said of Doncic after the game. “But just being in there first hand, watching all the whining and complaining, I lost all respect for him, that was awful.”
“It’s now about the foul being called, it’s about him complaining the entire game. It kind of threw me off for a little while.”
Lendeborg then blasted Doncic for talking trash to him after getting a foul call.
“You get the foul call. Congratulations, bro,” Lendeborg said. “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.”
“I was telling him he sucks. 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.”
Nevertheless, the two teams will continue to meet this season. The Warriors’ next game is against the Memphis Grizzlies on Saturday, October 24, 2026, on Friday, October 23, at 7:00 PM Pacific Time at the Chase Center in San Francisco.
Warriors’ Yaxel Lendeborg Reveals Biggest Lesson From Lakers’ Luka Doncic