What Steve Kerr Told Warriors' Yaxel Lendeborg After Luka Dončić Trash Talk

What Steve Kerr told Warriors' Yaxel Lendeborg after Luka Dončić trash talk originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

Few rookies draw the spotlight after just one game in the NBA, but Yaxel Lendeborg managed to do so following the Warriors’ season-opening loss to the Lakers. 

The Warriors rookie’s callout of Luka Dončić in his postgame press conference made national headlines. All eyes were on Lendeborg to see how he would follow it up, particularly when the league’s scoring leader and the Lakers rolled into Chase Center the following week. 

Warriors coach Steve Kerr, speaking Wednesday with ESPN’s Ernie Johnson on “Inside the NBA,” shared how he coached Lendeborg after the rookie’s comments to the media. 

“We talked to him as a staff; we talked as a team,” Kerr recalled. “Steph [Curry] had a great comment after that Laker game. He said, ‘Hey, I love Yaxel’s competitive desire, but now he’s got to back it up,’ and I thought that was perfectly said.  

“So, I kind of reiterated that with Yaxel, like, hey — we love this spirit, we love the competitiveness, but just know that Luka’s going to be coming.” 

Dončić, to no surprise, came out of the gates hot in the rematch, scoring 21 points with five 3-pointers made. Golden State was down 38-15 after that first quarter but mounted a furious comeback to finish with a 112-95 win. 

Although Lendeborg’s fiery comments might have provided some extra motivation for Dončić in his opening flurry, Kerr appreciates the rookie’s spirit. 

“There’s an old saying in coaching — you’d rather rein a guy back in than try to get him going,” Kerr said. “And I think that’s true with Yaxel. He wants to be great. He’s got this competitive spirit.  

“So, in terms of reining him in, it’s more just — hey, this is what the league is about. You’re going to see these kinds of challenges all the time. And do what Steph did: back it up. And Yaxel’s been doing that. So, I love coaching him. I think he’s got an incredible future.” 

Lendeborg only scored six points in the rematch with the Lakers but has scored in double digits in each of his other seven games played this season. In his next game after the rematch, Lendeborg scored a career-high 37 points. 

Entering Wednesday, Lendeborg ranks third among rookies with 21.5 points per game. He has a chance to improve that Thursday night against the Miami Heat at Chase Center.

The next time Lendeborg will have an opportunity to face Dončić and the Lakers will be Jan. 21.

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