Yaxel Lendeborg has played just one NBA game, but the Golden State Warriors rookie has already found himself embroiled in a heated feud with Luka Doncic.
Lendeborg made his NBA debut Wednesday night and wasted little time standing his ground against the reigning NBA scoring champion.
Their on-court exchange of trash talk reached its peak when Doncic drilled a spectacular half-court shot at the halftime buzzer, right in front of the rookie.
The Los Angeles Lakers superstar also had the last laugh on the scoreboard, scoring 28 points in just three quarters as the Lakers routed the Warriors 127-105.
But the 24-year-old Lendeborg was not ready to let the matter go. Speaking after the game, the first-round pick took aim at Doncic, accusing the six-time All-Star of complaining excessively, flopping and hunting for free throws.
“I lost all respect (for Doncic), man,” Lendeborg said. “That was awful. ... A lot of flopping, a lot of foul-baiting, a lot of praying to the ref, man. Interesting first game for me, for sure.”
Lendeborg said his confrontation with Doncic stemmed from the Slovenian superstar's persistent complaints to officials, a familiar feature of his game throughout his nine-year NBA career.
Lendeborg, who won an NCAA title with Michigan last season, said he had enjoyed watching highlights of Doncic's electrifying scoring performances but now had a more jaded perspective on the star's game.
“Me getting frustrated, it’s not about the foul being called,” Lendeborg said. “It’s about him complaining the entire game, and then you get the foul call, and congratulations, bro. And then you talk to me like you did something great? Bro, come on. That’s just weak, you know? It kind of threw me off for a little while, because like I said, I had so much respect for him. Gone, man. Gone.”
Lendeborg and Doncic exchanged insults for much of the second quarter, with Lendeborg receiving a technical foul after saying something so loudly and profanely that it caught the officials' attention.
“I was telling him he sucks,” Lendeborg said with a smile. “‘You can’t score on me.’ I said it the whole game. I said a couple of cuss words, obviously. 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.”
Doncic mostly laughed off Lendeborg's provocations, but the Lakers star has a history of playing with an edge. He was assessed 16 technical fouls last season, earning a one-game suspension after exceeding the NBA's single-season limit.
“He was talking crazy, but I wasn’t trying to talk back this season,” Doncic said of Lendeborg. “Not trying to get techs. For the first time, that was not a double tech, because I didn’t say nothing, so I’m working on it. As you see, I think it worked great.”
Doncic secured the ultimate victory at the final buzzer, but his halftime heroics were especially satisfying.
“I knew that was going in before I got it in my hands,” Doncic said with a grin. “I work on those.”
He received the ball near the scorer's table and let it fly with nearly three seconds left on the clock. When the shot banked in and sent the Lakers' downtown arena into pandemonium, Doncic gleefully pointed at the fuming Lendeborg, who was unimpressed.
“His only bucket on me was a banker from half court,” Lendeborg said. “I know it’s a team sport. He had 28 on us as a team. Me, I took my matchup personally. Tried not to get called on the fouls. Tried my best. I was thinking about playing him with my hands behind my back to see if that worked. Probably would have still got a foul call. But interesting.”
A Warriors official then steered Lendeborg away from further criticizing one of the NBA's biggest stars. The rookie had already done enough to fuel a budding personal rivalry between the two players, adding another intriguing subplot to the longstanding rivalry between the California teams.
Doncic and Lendeborg are scheduled to meet again Oct. 30, when the Lakers visit San Francisco.
