Warriors Rookie Has Bold Take on Luka Doncic Back-And-Forth: “I Lost All Respect For Him”

Warriors rookie Yaxel Lendeborg said he "lost all respect" for Los Angeles Lakers superstar Luka Doncic because of the way he begs for foul calls.

Warriors Rookie Has Bold Take on Luka Doncic Back-And-Forth: “I Lost All Respect For Him”

Luka Doncic and Yaxel Lendeborg (Image credits - LA Times)

The Luka Doncic era with the Los Angeles Lakers is officially underway. The Lakers’ first game of the 2026-27 campaign was against the Golden State Warriors at Crypto.com Arena.

There has been a lot of talk regarding the Lakers’ future since the departure of LeBron James in the summer. Fortunately for the purple and gold, it started on a bright note as they clinched a convincing 127-105 win over the Warriors on Wednesday night.

Luka Doncic was the star, scoring 28 points with eight rebounds and seven assists in 30 minutes. However, he made headlines for his duel and heated exchanges with Yaxel Lendeborg, who was making his NBA debut.

After the game, the Warriors rookie called out the Slovenian star as a complainer and a free-throw merchant.

That was awful. A lot of flopping, a lot of foul-baiting, a lot of praying to the ref. It’s about him complaining the entire game, and then you get the foul call. And then you talk to me like you did something great? Bro, come on. That’s just weak. It kind of threw me off for a little while, because like I said, I had so much respect for him. Gone, man. Gone.

Yaxel Lendeborg in his post match press conference

This is not the first time that Doncic has been criticized for his complaining and whining for fouls. It may be Lendeborg’s first matchup against the Lakers guard, but he has already seen enough.

RELATED
3 Teams Including LeBron James’ 76ers Who Can Take the Knicks’ Crown

Fans react to Yaxel Lendeborg calling out Luka Doncic for his constant complaining

While head coach JJ Redick has defended his star player over the constant complaining last season, it appears that he is not going to stop anytime soon. Despite it being his rookie year, Lendeborg has shown that he is not shy to speak his mind and has already made the headlines with his post-match comments.

Following his statements, fans took to the internet to react to it.

Fans called out Lendeborg for his comments about losing respect for Doncic. Instead of focusing on the loss and improving his performance, he focused on Doncic’s complaining, which rubbed many the wrong way.

Luka Doncic fired back at Yaxel Lendeborg

Luka Doncic is undoubtedly one of the best offensive players in the league today. Lendeborg had his share of success, holding Doncic to 1-of-6 shooting as the primary defender, but the six-time All-Star had his way throughout the game.

Luka Doncic shooting on Yaxel Lendeborg
Luka Doncic shooting on Yaxel Lendeborg (Image credits – Silver Screen and Roll)

The trash-talking between the two began in the first half itself. However, the Warriors forward was unaware that trash-talking only motivates the Slovenian guard to play better.

After the win, Doncic himself made sure to make that point when he was asked about Lendeborg’s scuffle with him.

Everybody knows when somebody starts talking, you got a different me. So that was it.

Luka Doncic in his post match interview

It was a learning experience for Lendeborg on his NBA debut. He will have the opportunity to face Doncic once again when the two sides clash on October 30 at Chase Center.

Also Read: