Yaxel Lendeborg Takes A Shot At Luka Doncic For Whining; Lakers Star Says Rookie Was ‘Talking Crazy’

Luka Doncic and the Lakers destroyed the Warriors, 127-105, on the opening night of their regular season. The Slovenian superstar finished with 28 points, eight rebounds, seven assists, and three steals, shooting 7-for-18 from the field (38.9%) and 5-for-12 from the three-point line (41.7%).

Doncic had an intense back-and-forth with the Warriors’ rookie, Yaxel Lendeborg, near the end of the first half, which riled up the Slovenian star and got him heating up, scoring 10 of his 28 points in the second quarter, which included a mid-range shot and a half-court buzzer-beater right after this heated trash talk between the players.

The Warriors’ rookie finished with 12 points, three rebounds, two assists, and one steal, shooting 5-for-11 from the field (45.5% FG) and 1-for-4 from beyond the arc (25.0% 3P). Before this highly anticipated matchup against Doncic, Lendeborg admitted he was ‘spooked’ to guard the Lakers star, out of respect.

But after the game, Lendeborg coldly said he lost all respect for Luka Doncic after seeing how he treated the officials.

“I got to see what the NBA is like, man: a lot of flopping, a lot happening… an interesting first game for me, for sure,” Lendeborg initially said while reflecting on his game.

“I had a lot of respect for him. But I didn’t watch the NBA much; I just watched the highlights. So I was seeing him kill people all the time. But being in there firsthand, watching all the whining and complaining, I lost all respect. Like, that was awful,” Yaxel Lendeborg said during his postgame press conference.

“And me getting frustrated, it’s not about the fouls being called, but it’s about him complaining the entire game. Like you just got the foul call, congratulations, bro. But you act like you did something crazy? Like, come on, bro. That’s just weak.”

“It kind of threw me off for a little while because, as I said, I had so much respect for him. But it’s gone, man, just gone,” Lendeborg concluded.

“I was telling him he sucks. He can’t score on me. You talking, you can’t score on me. I said it the whole game. I said a couple cuss words, obviously, you know, 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, and his only bucket was a banker from half court. Like, I know that it’s a team sport. He had 28 on us as a team.

“Me, I took my matchup personally. Tried not to get caught on the fouls. Tried my best. I was thinking about playing him with my hands behind my back to see if that worked. I probably still would’ve gotten a foul call. But, you know, interesting,” Lendeborg concluded.

Even Doncic had some harsh words for Lendeborg in his postgame interview and the press conference.

“He was talking crazy. I was trying not to talk back this season, trying not to get techs. It was the first time I didn’t get a double-tech because I didn’t say anything. But I think, as you can see, it worked great,” Luka Doncic said during the press conference about his exchange with Lendeborg.

“I knew that was going before I got it in my hands. I worked on those,” Doncic added about his half-court buzzer-beater to end the first half.

In the postgame interview, Luka Doncic also sent a bold message to any future opponents who plan to trash-talk him.

“I mean, I didn’t think about it at all,” Doncic said about targeting Yaxel Lendeborg tonight. “Everybody knows when somebody starts talking, you got a different me. So that was it.”

Luka Doncic let his performance speak for itself despite Lendeborg’s targeted trash talk, helping the Lakers win handily on opening night. Their heated exchange heightened an already entertaining matchup, and Doncic’s response made it clear that opponents who insult him could unleash an even more dangerous side of the Slovenian superstar.

The two sides will meet again for their NBA Cup matchup later this month (October 30). It will be interesting to see whether Lendeborg can respond or if the Lakers’ Slovenian superstar shows more of the same.