Warriors’ Yaxel Lendeborg ‘lost all respect’ for Luka Doncic after what he saw in opener appeared first on ClutchPoints. Add ClutchPoints as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
The Golden State Warriors failed to start their season with a win as they fell prey to a 127-105 loss against the Los Angeles Lakers. However, apart from the loss, the Warriors rookie star Yaxel Lendeborg was particularly frustrated with the Lakers star Luka Doncic and had already lost all his respect for the Lakers franchise star.
In the postgame press conference, Lendeborg admitted that witnessing the behavior of Doncic firsthand made him lose the respect he previously held for the star.
“I had a lot of respect for him [Luka Doncic], but being in there firsthand, watching all the whining and complaining, I lost all respect for him,” Lendeborg said.
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The Lakers guard’s tendency to show frustration toward officials has remained a recurring talking point throughout his NBA career. However, Lendeborg did not hesitate to openly criticize that behavior after making his regular-season debut in the league.
Moreover, the Warriors rookie and the Slovenian superstar also had an on-court exchange during the game, which may have further contributed to Lendeborg’s frustration with Doncic.
Nevertheless, Lendeborg quickly received support from Warriors veteran Draymond Green. Following the game, Green defended the rookie’s decision to stand up to the Lakers star.
“Everybody’s gonna be like, ‘Oh, man, he should not talk shit to Luka, and I disagree with that shit 1000%. You f*** gonna talk to somebody, you talk until you can’t f*** talk no more,’” Green said.
Despite the heated exchange and the Warriors’ eventual defeat, Lendeborg also made an impact defensively against Doncic.
Though the Lakers superstar scored 23 points in the first half, the rookie was the only Golden State player who managed to slow him down effectively. According to ESPN’s tracking data, Doncic scored just two points on 0-of-4 shooting when Lendeborg served as his primary defender in half-court situations during the first half.
However, the night ultimately ended in disappointment for Lendeborg and the Warriors. The rookie finished with 12 points on 5-of-11 shooting, along with three rebounds, two assists and one steal.
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