Yaxel Lendeborg reveals why he ‘lost all respect' for Luka Doncic

The Golden State Warriors rookie Yaxel Lendeborg called out Los Angeles Lakers superstar Luka Doncic during the 2026-2027 NBA season opening game. The two players exchanged fiery post-game remarks on the court. Speaking about the result of the debut game, the Lakers defeated the Warriors 127-105. Doncic finished with 28 points, 8 rebounds and 7 assists, while Lendeborg scored 12 points and grabbed 3 rebounds in his NBA debut. Besides the game a flare-up unfolded on the court. During the second quarter, Lendeborg was assigned to guard Doncic. After being whistled for shooting foul, Lendeborg started talking about Doncic. The exchange escalated with Lendeborg showing offensive attitude toward Dončić and earning a technical foul. Doncic also retaliated with trash talk. At the end of the first half, Dončić capped off the quarter by hitting a banking half-court buzzer-beater shot over Lendeborg and exchanged words with him as they headed to the locker rooms. In post-game remarks, Lendeborg said, 'A lot of flopping, a lot of foul-baiting, and a lot of crying to the refs. It was an interesting first game for me… I had a lot of respect for him. I didn't watch the NBA a lot, but I saw highlights of him killing people all the time. But being there firsthand, watching all the whining and complaining, I lost all respect.' 'I said a couple cuss words,' Lendeborg said. '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.' 'It's not about getting the foul call, it's about him complaining the entire game. You got the foul call, congratulations, but then you talk to me like you did something great? Come on man, that —- is weak. It kinda threw me off, I had so much respect for him. Gone.' When asked about the post-game altercations, Doncic brushed off the criticism while stating that this type of trash talk always motivated him. Luka said, "Everybody knows when somebody starts talking, you got a different me. So that was it." "He was talking crazy," Doncic said in his postgame press conference. "But, you know, I wasn't trying to talk back this season. I'm not trying to get techs." "This is the first time that it was not a double tech because I didn't say nothing. So I'm working on it. But as you can see, I think it worked great." Both teams will play again for their NBA Cup matchup later this month.