Golden State Warriors rookie Yaxel Lendeborg “lost all respect” for Los Angeles Lakers star Luka Doncic after their meeting in Wednesday’s season opener.
“I had a lot of respect for him [because] I didn’t really watch the NBA much,” Lendeborg said, via ESPN’s Anthony Slater.
“I just watched highlights and seen him kill people. But being in it firsthand and seeing all the whining and complaining, I lost all respect.”
Lendeborg proceeded to congratulate Doncic for baiting the referees into hitting him with a technical foul, but felt it was “weak” for the Slovenian to keep complaining.
“That was awful,” Lendeborg stressed. “Me getting frustrated, it’s not about the foul being called, it’s about him complaining the entire game.”
“You get the foul call. Congratulations, bro. 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.”
Luka Doncic vs Yaxel Lendeborg
The incident in question took place late in the second half when Lendeborg ignited a strong reaction from Doncic after nearly blocking his shot cleanly.
Subsequently, Doncic kept talking trash to Lendeborg throughout the game, even from the sidelines. Notably, he gestured at the Warriors rookie after nailing a buzzer-beating halfcourt shot to give the Lakers a commanding 66-52 lead entering halftime.
“He was talking crazy,” Doncic said of Lendeborg after the game.
“But I wasn’t trying to talk back. This season, I’m not trying to get techs.”
Doncic admitted Lendeborg’s relentless chirping brought out a different side in him.
“I think everybody knows when somebody starts talking, you get a different me. So that was it,” he told ESPN’s Malika Andrews.
What Yaxel Told Lakers Star
The Warriors rookie provided insight into what he told Doncic.
“I was telling him he sucks,” Lendeborg revealed.
“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.”
Warriors head coach Steve Kerr emphasized with his rookie and felt the veteran Luka Doncic goaded him into losing his composure.
“He kind of lured him in a little bit,” Kerr said of Doncic.
“I thought the single technical was ridiculous. They were jawing at each other. I think it was the words Yaxel used that got him the T. But then Luka makes the half-court shot and gets in his face. That should be a tech.”
The Lakers and Warriors will face each other again on Oct. 30.
Lakers’ Luka Doncic Gets Harsh Message From Warriors’ Yaxel Lendeborg