Yaxel Lendeborg
Yaxel Lendeborg

LOS ANGELES — Golden State Warriors rookie Yaxel Lendeborg said he "lost all respect" for Los Angeles Lakers star Luka Doncic after the teams' season-opening game Wednesday night, citing the way Doncic sought foul calls throughout a physical matchup.

The Lakers won 127-105 at Crypto.com Arena. Lendeborg, the No. 11 pick in the 2026 draft, started on the wing in his NBA debut with Jimmy Butler and Moses Moody sidelined by injuries. He was assigned to defend Doncic for significant stretches of the contest.

"I had a lot of respect for him because I didn't really watch the NBA much," Lendeborg said after the game. "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."

According to ESPN tracking data, Lendeborg held Doncic to 1-of-6 shooting when he was the primary defender. The one made field goal came on a half-court bank shot as time expired in the first half. Doncic finished with a game-high 28 points on 7-of-18 shooting, along with eight rebounds and seven assists. He went 9-of-9 from the free-throw line. Lendeborg scored 12 points on 5-of-11 shooting in 29 minutes, adding three rebounds and two assists while committing four personal fouls.

The exchanges turned heated late in the second quarter. After Doncic pump-faked Lendeborg into a shooting foul near the top of the key, words were exchanged following the whistle. Lendeborg was assessed a technical foul with 22.4 seconds remaining in the half.

"That was awful," Lendeborg said. "Me getting frustrated, it's not about the foul being called, it's about him complaining the entire game."

He continued: "You get the foul call. Congratulations, bro. 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."

Lendeborg said he told Doncic during the game that he could not score on him. "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."

Doncic responded after the game that the trash talk changed his approach. "I think everybody knows when somebody starts talking, you get a different me. So that was it," Doncic said. He added: "He was talking crazy. But I wasn't trying to talk back this season, not trying to get techs. So it was the first time that was not a double-tech because I didn't say anything. So I'm working on it. But as you see, I think it worked great."

Doncic then hit the half-court bank shot at the first-half buzzer, pointed at Lendeborg, and laughed as the teams headed to the locker room. The Lakers led by 14 at intermission before outscoring the Warriors 36-16 in the third quarter to open a 35-point lead at one point.

Warriors coach Steve Kerr addressed the technical and the half-court sequence. "He kind of lured him in a little bit," Kerr said. "I thought the single technical was ridiculous. They were jawing at each other. I think it was the words Yaxel used that got him the T. But then Luka makes the half-court shot and gets in his face. That should be a tech."

Draymond Green, who has mentored Lendeborg, supported the rookie's willingness to engage. "In this league, everybody always says, 'Oh, there's certain guys you got to respect,'" Green said. "I ain't come in the league like that. Everybody will say, 'Oh, the rookie learned his lesson.' What'd he learn? The next time he see him, go at his ass again."

Green added that he disagreed with the notion that a rookie should avoid talking to an established star. "Everybody's gonna be like, 'Oh, man, he should not talk s--- to Luka, and I disagree with that s--- 1,000%. You f--- gonna talk to somebody, you talk until you can't f--- talk no more."

Lendeborg described the broader experience of his debut as eye-opening. "I guess this is what the NBA is like, man," he said. "A lot of flopping, a lot of foul baiting, a lot of praying to the refs, man. Interesting first game for me."

He also noted the one made basket he allowed as primary defender. "His only bucket on me was a banker from halfcourt," Lendeborg said. "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 called on the fouls. Tried my best. I was thinking about playing him with my hands by my back to see if that worked. I would have still got a foul called."

The Warriors were without several regular contributors. In addition to Butler and Moody, Brandin Podziemski (back) and Kristaps Porzingis were unavailable. Stephen Curry scored 23 points, with 20 coming in the first half. Walker Kessler, in his Lakers debut, scored 26 points on 12-of-12 shooting.

Lendeborg became the first Warriors rookie to start on opening night since James Wiseman in 2020. Kerr and the organization have previously praised his readiness and personality, even after Lendeborg said on draft night that he used to root against Curry as a Kyrie Irving fan.

The teams are scheduled to play again on Oct. 30 in San Francisco. Lendeborg's postgame comments focused on the nature of the officiating interactions and the verbal exchanges rather than the final score. Doncic's free-throw volume and the physical nature of the matchup were recurring themes in both players' remarks.

Kerr has framed the fouls Lendeborg committed as part of an adjustment period. The rookie's four personal fouls included three that sent Doncic to the line. The Warriors briefly removed Lendeborg after the initial confrontation before returning him to the Doncic assignment as the first half continued.

Attendance was announced at 19,057, a sellout. The Lakers led after every quarter and held the largest lead of the night at 35 points. Lendeborg's debut production came in 29 minutes of a 22-point loss, with the verbal confrontation becoming the primary postgame topic for both sides.

The sequence began with physical defense, escalated through foul calls and trash talk, and concluded with Doncic's half-court shot and Lendeborg's assessment of the evening's officiating dynamics. Both players addressed the exchanges directly after the game, with Lendeborg emphasizing the complaints to officials and Doncic citing the effect of the words directed at him.