Golden State Warriors rookie Yaxel Lendeborg was left unimpressed with the conduct of LA Lakers star Luka Doncic after losing 127-105 on opening night.
Lendeborg claimed Doncic kept begging for foul calls.
Jimmy Butler and Moses Moody were both out injured, so the Warriors threw Lendeborg into the starting lineup on the wing for his professional debut. They had him guard Doncic for a large chunk of the game.
He had his moments. According to ESPN tracking stats, Lendeborg held Doncic to 1-of-6 shooting as the primary defender. It didn’t matter much, though. The Lakers’ offense hummed regardless, scoring 32, 34 and 36 points in the first three quarters to build a 35-point lead.
Things got heated late in the second quarter after several physical possessions between the two. Doncic pump-faked Lendeborg into a shooting foul near the top of the key, then let him know about it after the whistle.
“I had a lot of respect for him [because] I didn’t really watch the NBA much,” Lendeborg said. “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.”
“That was awful,” Lendeborg said. “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,” Lendeborg said. “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.”
After Warriors coach Steve Kerr subbed out Lendeborg, Doncic taunted the rookie by pointing at him after hitting a jumper on the bench. Lendeborg was reintroduced into the game and the back-and-forth resumed.
“He was talking crazy,” Doncic said. “But I wasn’t trying to talk back. This season, I’m not trying to get techs.”
Steve Kerr believes Doncic was to be blamed for the dustup.
“I was telling him he sucks,” Lendeborg said. “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.”
The Warriors and Lakers meet again on Oct. 30 in San Francisco.
All quotes were copied from ESPN
