Yaxel Lendeborg says he “lost all respect” for Luka Doncic after their back-and-forth in his debut

Warriors rookie Yaxel Lendeborg had a modest NBA debut in Wednesday’s loss to the Lakers, but he made noise afterward. He told reporters he “lost all respect” for Luka Doncic after trading words with him during the game, Anthony Slater writes.

Lendeborg played a team-high 29 minutes and finished with 12 points and three rebounds. “I had a lot of respect for him (because) I didn’t really watch the NBA much,” he said. “I just watched highlights and seen him kill people. But being in it firsthand and seeing all the whining and complaining, I lost all respect.”

He pointed to a second-quarter play. “You get the foul call. Congratulations, bro,” Lendeborg said. “Then you talk to me like you did something great. C’mon, dog.”

Lendeborg picked up a technical foul in that quarter. Asked what he said to Doncic, he was blunt. “I was telling him he sucks,” he said. “He can’t score on me. You talk but you can’t score on me. I said it the whole game. I said a couple cuss words, obviously. That’s why I got the technical. But I was letting him know.”

Doncic finished with 28 points and a plus-31 mark in 30 minutes, but Slater notes he shot just 1-of-6 from the field when Lendeborg was his primary defender.