Luka Doncic throws shade at Yaxel Lendeborg after their scuffle in the season opener originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
Yaxel Lendeborg is only one game into his NBA career, but he has already drawn a superstar's ire. That player is Luka Doncic of the Los Angeles Lakers, whom the Golden State Warriors played against in their respective season opener.
Unfortunately for Lendeborg, it seems that Doncic took his trash talk to heart because he scored a game-high 28 points. The Lakers won 127-105, which had a dominant performance from their main trio of Doncic, Austin Reaves, and Walker Kessler.
Luka Doncic fires back at Yaxel Lendeborg
It all started in the first half when both Doncic and Lendeborg were talking trash to each other. This should have been a lesson for the rookie because talking trash to Doncic is a big no-no for most NBA players.
He seemingly gets more motivated when opponents talk trash to him. Doncic himself made sure to make that point after the game when he was asked about Lendeborg's scuffle with him.
"Yeah, I think everybody knows when somebody starts talking, you got a different me. So that was it," Doncic said after the Lakers beat the Warriors.
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Doncic also made sure to make a point after Lendeborg talked trash to him. That is why he had a great time making that half-court shot and pointed at Lendeborg.
It seems the disdain goes both ways because Lendeborg had a lot to say after the game. He spoke about how his opinion on Doncic has changed after just one matchup.
"I got to see what the NBA was like, man. A lot of flopping, a lot of foul-baiting, a lot of crying to the ref. Interesting first game for me, for sure... Watching all the whining and complaining, I lost all respect," Lendeborg said about playing against Doncic,
Moving forward, it will be interesting to see how Lendeborg will fare against other superstars. He will be a point-of-attack defender for most of them, but most of them are similar to Doncic, meaning the bear should not be poked all the time.
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