Warriors’ Draymond Green weighs in on Yaxel Lendeborg-Luka Doncic flare-up appeared first on ClutchPoints. Add ClutchPoints as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
The Golden State Warriors rookie Yaxel Lendeborg did not hold back his frustration toward Los Angeles Lakers superstar Luka Doncic during his debut game. The two players were seen exchanging words on the court. However, Warriors veteran Draymond Green stood firmly behind his rookie teammate and defended his decision to challenge the Slovenian star.
When asked about the heated exchange between Lendeborg and Doncic in the locker room, Green expressed his support for the rookie and dismissed the idea that he should have avoided confronting an established NBA superstar.
“Everybody’s gonna be like, ‘Oh man, he shouldn’t talk to Luka,” Green said. “You should not talk to Luka. And I disagree with that shit, 1,000%. You fuc*** go and talk to somebody. You talk until you can’t fuc**** talk no more.
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“And if he busts your a**, guess what? You play him again three more times, and you go back at his a** again. And then you see him the third time, and you go back at his a** again.”
Lendeborg’s frustration with Doncic extended beyond their on-court confrontation. During his postgame press conference, the Warriors rookie made an even stronger statement about the Lakers superstar, claiming that he had lost all respect for the Slovenian guard after playing against him in his first regular-season NBA game.
Meanwhile, Warriors superstar Stephen Curry also expressed his support for Lendeborg.
“So he’s setting the table for himself to have to show up, and I like that nature of the game, whether you do it in between your ears or you let it out, I know he’ll be able to back it up,” Curry said.
Unfortunately for Lendeborg, his NBA debut ended in a loss as the Warriors fell 125-107 to the Lakers. Despite the disappointing team result, the rookie delivered a respectable individual performance, finishing with 12 points on 5-of-11 shooting from the field, along with three rebounds.
The 0-1 Warriors will now look to bounce back from their season-opening loss when they take on the Memphis Grizzlies on Friday.
Related: Warriors’ Steve Kerr doesn’t hold back on Yaxel Lendeborg, Luka Doncic
Related: Lakers’ Luka Doncic sounds off on making Yaxel Lendeborg pay for trash talk