Despite an ugly 127-105 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers on opening night, it was the Golden State Warriors that stole headlines on Wednesday night following the comments from their rookie first round pick. After Luka Doncic and Yaxel Lendeborg jawed at eachother throughout Wednesday night's contest in Los Angeles, the rookie out of Michigan didn't hold back when talking about the Lakers All-Star point guard after the game.
When talking to members of the media at Crypto.com Arena in a postgame press conference, Lendeborg was critical of Doncic, saying he "lost all respect" for the six-time All-Star guard. When asked about their on-court interaction that got the attention of the crowd in Los Angeles, Lendeborg said he told Doncic "he sucks." Lendeborg was critical of Doncic's
"flopping" and "foul baiting" in Wednesday's contest between the Warriors and Lakers.
Via @anthonyVslater on X:
Yaxel Lendeborg said he “lost all respect” for Luka Doncic after facing him tonight because he said Doncic was “complaining the entire game.”
— Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) October 22, 2026
On his interaction with Doncic: “I told him he sucks. He can’t score on me.”
Full soundbite pic.twitter.com/1NPctFQ3Vp
During one of their back and forth's during the game, Lendeborg was assessed a technical foul, leading Doncic to the free throw line.
Via @SportsCenter on X:
Rookie Yax goin' at Luka 🍿
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) October 22, 2026
Yaxel Lendeborg and Luka Doncic got into it during Warriors-Lakers 👀 pic.twitter.com/DRQb9kTVqI
Via @DubsVault on X:
Yaxel Lendeborg defensive tape on Luka Doncic:
— DubsVault 🎥🏆 (@DubsVault) October 22, 2026
Luka Doncic shot 0-5 when guarded by Yaxel Lendeborg tonight 🔒 https://t.co/dSBBtvh5p7 pic.twitter.com/vyiHkQKgHV
Despite Lendeborg's postgame callout, Doncic got the last laugh during the game, scoring a game-high 28 points on 7-of-18 shooting from the field with five made 3-pointers to go along with eight boards and seven assists in 30 minutes. Doncic finished 9-of-9 from the free throw line.
In his rookie debut, Lendeborg tallied 12 points on 5-of-11 shooting from the field with three boards and two assists in 29 minutes.
Following Lendeborg's critical postgame comments on Wednesday night, social media exploded with different reactions. Here's a look at what fans and analysts were saying about the back and forth between Lendeborg and Doncic.
Stephen A Smith APPLAUDS Yaxel Lendeborg for calling out Luka to quit crying to the refs:
— NBA Courtside (@NBA__Courtside) October 22, 2026
“Here’s why I’m supportive in what Yaxel is saying. He’s saying ‘if you’re so great, quit whining to the officials. Just go out there and bust my ass. But stop whining to the officials… https://t.co/PAJfCUyO7A pic.twitter.com/7MQef6AeJe
Luka Doncic shot 1/6 (16.7%) when guarded by Yaxel Lendeborg pic.twitter.com/NsgZbqJHE5
— Underdog (@Underdog) October 22, 2026
lmao yaxel just lets it rip man, just a true one of one. https://t.co/8xTXzpv8zB
— Sam Vecenie (@Sam_Vecenie) October 22, 2026
“What was your welcome to the NBA moment?”
— Rachel A DeMita (@RADeMita) October 22, 2026
Yaxel: https://t.co/rl0fOD6W94
"What was not rough to watch yesterday and left me wanting more, was Yaxel Lendeborg... He wasn't afraid of the challenge and that's what I expected from him."@Spadoni_Joe on the debut of Yaxel Lendeborg's debut last night (@MorningRoast957) pic.twitter.com/M9PEMrXRUx
— 95.7 The Game (@957thegame) October 22, 2026
Yaxel is a quote machine. No filter. And he isn’t wrong about Luka.
— Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanHoops) October 22, 2026
Guy is a Top 5 all-time whiner. https://t.co/5pKo1VAmjw
Hope he pans out because this is the type of player I’d want as the face of my franchise. None of this corny, grifting hoops we see now.
— Gautam Ratnam (@GautamRatnamNBA) October 22, 2026
Yaxel got a big fan in me already, salute brother @Yaxel_Lendeborg ✊ https://t.co/95XfE5toAY
This might be the greatest post game presser I’ve ever seen!
— The Real Calvy J (@CJRealHoops2) October 22, 2026
“Lot of flopping, lot of foul baiting… all the whining and complaining. I lost all respect, man.”
-Yaxel Lenderborg
Frankly, the game needs more players willing to call out their peers for playing in such a way 🫡 https://t.co/Lbv4qufHJQ
The NBA is back and rookie Yaxel Lendeborg isn’t afraid to talk trash
— Wake Up Barstool (@wakeupbarstool) October 22, 2026
Love it? Hate it? pic.twitter.com/WMqp5exeGc
Luka Doncic vs Yaxel Lendeborg was a lesson for the rookie … wrong guy to poke at pic.twitter.com/6ym275B5cH
— Hoops Tonight (@hoopstonite) October 22, 2026
1) Yaxel spoke a lot of facts here. A lot of people feel the same way about Luka as Yaxel does
— Marc Grandi (@MarcGrandi) October 22, 2026
2) I respect the hell out of the honesty, but I can’t believe he said this after his first NBA game. I guess I should stop being surprised
3) I don’t think the organization loves it https://t.co/FRKalUiHTI
Celebrating Yaxel’s podium game after being down 30 after three quarters is not what I was expecting from some of y'all.
— Bonta Hill (@BontaHill) October 22, 2026
LOVE THIS KID https://t.co/zii518AuO3
— Joe Shasky (@ButcherBoy415) October 22, 2026
Is there something wrong with this guy? Legitmate question https://t.co/tdSLadPMX7
— Josh Lloyd (@redrock_bball) October 22, 2026
— warriorsworld (@warriorsworld) October 22, 2026
I love the NBA https://t.co/X6L58itj7w
— Andrew Schlecht (@AndrewKSchlecht) October 22, 2026
Yaxel has played one game with the Warriors and is already Draymond 2.0 https://t.co/ZtJV1A3oE3
— Steven Cheah (@StevenCheah) October 22, 2026
I support anyone that’s unapologetically honest https://t.co/OnIfRJ8Y0G
— kingtisemedia (@kingtisemedia) October 22, 2026
The @NBA is going to humble him with fines over his comments on officiating.
— Knickanator (@Knickanator_) October 22, 2026
Heaven forbid the league darling @lukadoncic have to earn a bucket without crying all game. https://t.co/94J7rSkXDF
This man does not give a damn and I’m 100% here for it https://t.co/xgHEpIu1Kh
— Greg Silver (@GregSilverSport) October 22, 2026
the NBA media is not ready for Yaxel Lendeborg's honesty https://t.co/57GnzlwyHQ
— Eric Shapiro (@eric_shap) October 22, 2026
I completely agree with him about the whining so in that way I appreciate the dude being so open and honest to Luka and with the media about him, but something tells me he will regret saying this after one NBA game and will probably learn to keep some of this to himself lol https://t.co/MhtSXQNdLY
— Trevor Cancilla (@trevcosi23) October 22, 2026
This post originally appeared on Warriors Wire! Follow us on Facebookand Twitter!
This article originally appeared on Warriors Wire: Social media reacts to Yaxel Lendeborg calling out Luka Doncic postgame
