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Warriors rookie Yaxel Lendeborg didn’t hold the trash talk back in his NBA debut.
Lendeborg was tasked with defending Lakers superstar Luka Doncic on Opening Night and the matchup did not disappoint. The Warriors rookie started chirping at Doncic, which continued with back-and-forth banter throughout the game.
“I’m not afraid to talk to nobody. He’s not Michael Jordan,” Lendeborg said.
While Lendeborg wasn’t ashamed by his actions, he added: “I feel like I did kinda take it overboard in the media, but it is what it is.”
— Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) October 24, 2026Here is some Yaxel Lendeborg postgame
On the backlash to Luka comments: “I’m not afraid to talk to nobody. He’s not Michael Jordan.”
He did admit: “I feel like I did kinda take it overboard in the media, but it is what it is.”
On the Boozer matchup: “I always want to have a… pic.twitter.com/sPvnUt5eX5
Lendeborg’s trash talk extended off the court as the forward ranted about Doncic to the media after the Warriors’ season-opening loss.
“Being in there firsthand, just watching all the whining and complaining, I lost all respect, man,” Lendeborg said.
“Like, me getting frustrated, it’s not about the foul getting called. It’s about him complaining the entire game,” Lendeborg added. “Then you get the foul called — congratulations, bro — and you talk to me like you did something great? That’s just weak. It kind of threw me off for a while. Because like I said, I had so much respect for him. Gone, man.”
Lendeborg certainly had his welcome to the NBA moment as Doncic scored a game-high 28 points, seven assists and eight rebounds to give the Lakers a commanding win over Golden State.
But the Warriors rookie is seemingly unfazed by the results.