Warriors Rookie Reflects on NBA Debut Against Doncic
LOS ANGELES — Yaxel Lendeborg, the Warriors’ bold rookie, learned a thing or two during his first NBA game against Luka Doncic. After Golden State’s 127-105 loss to the Lakers, Lendeborg shared his thoughts on the experience.
“Being in there firsthand, just watching all the whining and complaining, I lost all respect, man,” he remarked, clearly taken aback by the theatrics on the court. “That was awful.”
One of the more entertaining aspects of the game was Lendeborg’s ongoing verbal tussle with Doncic, who is known for his passionate play.
In his 29 minutes on the floor, Lendeborg scored 12 points, picked up four personal fouls, and received one technical foul.
He often found himself matched up against Doncic, who racked up a game-high 28 points and was awarded nine free throws.
However, what stood out to Lendeborg was the way Doncic interacted with the referees after every call. “Like, me getting frustrated, it’s not about the foul getting called. It’s about him complaining the entire game,” he explained. “Then you get the foul called — congratulations, bro — and you talk to me like you did something great? That’s just weak. It kind of threw me off for a while. Because like I said, I had so much respect for him. Gone, man.”
Even though Doncic only went to the free-throw line nine times, Lendeborg felt it was more like 30.
After the game, Doncic commented that Lendeborg was “talking like crazy,” but he usually kept his chatter reserved to the court. Lendeborg wasn’t shy to dive into the details. “I said a couple cuss words,” he recalled. “That’s why I got the technical. But I was letting him know, because he was laughing and talking all this because of one foul call.”
Midway through the first half, Lendeborg fell for one of Doncic’s pump fakes, which sparked a series of exchanges between the two, both verbally and physically. Doncic laughed and pointed, prompting Lendeborg to respond in kind.
At one point, Lendeborg even put both hands behind his back while defending Doncic. “I tried my best,” he said, reflecting on the intensity of the matchup. “I still got called.”
The back-and-forth continued throughout the first half, especially after Lendeborg defended Doncic successfully on a step-back three-pointer. He followed Doncic down the court, still communicating, until he was hit with his first technical foul.
Doncic returned the exchange just before halftime, making a half-court shot as time expired. Coach Steve Kerr remarked that it was “kind of ridiculous” for Lendeborg to be the only player to receive a technical, but acknowledged the rookie’s confidence.
“They were jawing at each other. I think it was the words Yaxel chose that got him the T,” Kerr noted, adding that Doncic had a hand in provoking Lendeborg.
Lendeborg, however, viewed the situation differently. He mentioned that he felt energized by the competition, regardless of Doncic’s reputation for rising to the challenge when provoked. “I feel like it works for me, for sure. On the defensive end I feel like it worked,” he stated. “I know he has a reputation for that. That’s probably why the half-court shot went in. But I didn’t really see nothing else. I definitely thought that he was gonna do more than that.”
What stands out from Lendeborg’s debut is his potential to become one of the league’s most intriguing newcomers, and perhaps a spiritual successor to Draymond Green.
Yet, he walked away from the game with a broader perspective. “I got to see what the NBA’s like, man. A lot of flopping, a lot of foul baiting, a lot of praying to the ref,” Lendeborg reflected. “Interesting first game, for sure.”
