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 … but being in there firsthand, watching all the whining and complaining, I lost all respect for him,” Lendeborg said of Doncic.
“That was awful,” he continued. “It’s not about me getting called for a foul [technical foul], it’s about him complaining the entire game.”
Lendeborg proceeded to congratulate Doncic for baiting the referees into hitting him with a technical foul, and felt it was “weak” for the Slovenian to keep complaining.
“It kinda threw me off because, as I said, I had so much respect for him. Gone, man.”
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 giv the Lakers a commanding 66-52 lead entering halftime.
“He was talking crazy,” Doncic said of Lendeborg after the game.
D0ncic 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.
Lakers’ Luka Doncic Gets Harsh Message From Warriors’ Yaxel Lendeborg