Stephen Curry is backing his Golden State Warriors rookie after the Luka Doncic drama.
The Lakers dominated the Warriors 127-105, blowing the game open in the second half. Luka Doncic led the charge for L.A. with 28 points, while Stephen Curry paced Golden State with 23.
Warriors rookie Yaxel Lendeborg chipped in 12 points in his debut, but the real drama involved him and Doncic. The two exchanged nonstop trash talk during a tight second quarter, culminating in a technical foul for Lendeborg.
Afterward, the rookie admitted he lost respect for Doncic over his constant referee complaints, while Luka claimed the chatter only fueled his performance.
Steph Curry defends Yaxel Lendeborg’s actions vs Lakers
Steph Curry loved seeing rookie Yaxel Lendeborg bring that fire against Luka Doncic. Instead of telling him to tone it down, Steph backed his confidence completely, pointing out that talking trash just means you have to show up and back it up, which is what real competition is all about.
Speaking to the media, he said: “I love confidence, I love that care and passion. From what I’ve seen from him, it’s about just playing basketball. It’s not about anything else. He’s setting the table for himself to have to show up. I like the nature of the game, whether you do it in between your ears or you let it out.”
Seeing Yaxel Lendeborg bring that total lack of fear onto the big stage is huge for the Warriors. You love seeing a rookie try to set a physical tone and make a name for himself right out of the gate.
But he’s about to learn the hard way that the league’s top guys actually feed off that noise, it just gives them extra motivation to embarrass you.
Wanting to prove you belong is fine, but poking the bear early usually backfires. At this level, the absolute best message you can send is just letting your game speak for itself.
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