Warriors rookie Lendeborg: 'Lost all respect' for Doncic — SkimNews
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- Yaxel Lendeborg made his NBA debut starting on the wing for the Warriors in their 127-105 opening-night loss to the Lakers, and said he "lost all respect" for Luka Doncic over what Lendeborg called constant "whining and complaining" for foul calls.
- Lendeborg held Doncic to 1-of-6 shooting as the primary defender (per ESPN tracking), but the Lakers still built a 35-point lead by scoring 32, 34, and 36 points in the first three quarters.
- Tempers flared in the second quarter when Doncic pump-faked Lendeborg into a shooting foul near the top of the key and taunted him; Lendeborg called the move "weak ass s---" and later drew a technical for continuing to yell at Doncic.
- Doncic got the last laugh at the halftime buzzer, banking in a 48-foot heave off the backboard and pointing and laughing at Lendeborg, the nearest defender, to push the Lakers' lead to 14.
- Coach Steve Kerr called the single technical on Lendeborg "ridiculous" and said Doncic's post-shot taunt should have drawn a tech of his own; Draymond Green backed Lendeborg publicly, saying "The next time he see him, go at his ass again."
- Lendeborg scored 12 points in 29 minutes, becoming the first Warriors rookie to start on opening night since James Wiseman in 2020; the two teams meet again Oct. 30 in San Francisco.
Why it matters: This is more than a trash-talk footnote — a Warriors rookie held a top-five player to 1-of-6 as the primary defender, then publicly torched him on the record. The rematch is already circled for Oct. 30 in San Francisco, and with Draymond Green publicly endorsing the rookie's aggression, the Warriors have a new on-court instigator they're clearly willing to deploy against the Lakers' best player.
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