Why Stephen A. Smith supports Yaxel Lendeborg trash-talking Luka Dončić

Why Stephen A. Smith supports Yaxel Lendeborg trash-talking Luka Dončić originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

Warriors rookie Yaxel Lendeborg turned heads in Golden State’s 127-105 season-opening loss at the Los Angeles Lakers for his trash-talk with Luka Dončić and his postgame comments.

In the wake of the aftermath, Stephen A. Smith emphatically voiced his support for Lendeborg on ESPN’s First Take.

“He [Lendeborg] was saying [to Dončić], ‘Yo, stop whining for help from the officials! Let me guard you, then! Stop sitting up there looking to the officials for help, if you wanna go, let’s go!’ I don’t have a problem with that!” Smith exclaimed.

“Let them talk! … We like that.” 🍿@stephenasmith weighs in on Yaxel's confrontation with Luka in the Lakers' win over the Warriors. pic.twitter.com/k0qACym88B

— First Take (@FirstTake) October 22, 2026

“I like that level of competition. I like the fact that this kid didn’t back down,” Smith added. “This rookie went out there had no fear whatsoever, [and] was willing to compete with him.”

In his NBA debut, Lendeborg took on the daunting task of being the primary defender assigned to Dončić. The two began letting the trash-talk fly in the second quarter, and the tension precipitated in a technical foul charged to the rookie in an interaction that appeared to be 50-50.

Tech on Yaxel Lendeborg right after this

How many rookies are doing this with Luka Doncic? pic.twitter.com/CMDb3CFfV6

— Dalton Johnson (@DaltonJ_Johnson) October 22, 2026

“I was really, really ticked off when that referee gave Yaxel Lendeborg the technical foul in the second quarter, I was mad about that,” Smith commented. “Give it to both of them, they were both talking!”

When Smith’s co-host Chiney Ogwumike pointed out that Lendeborg was apparently T’d up for a specific choice of words, Smith’s position remained unchanged.

“So what? I’m calling out the NBA on that. [The] NBA gotta stop that nonsense. Let ’em talk!” Smith replied. “As long as there’s no fisticuffs, let ’em talk. We like that!”

Yaxel Lendeborg isn’t back down from the smoke guarding Luka Doncic pic.twitter.com/6ik1u6i74i

— Dalton Johnson (@DaltonJ_Johnson) October 22, 2026

“I was telling him he sucks,” Lendeborg said after the game. “He can’t score on me. You’re talking? 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 and all that. But I was letting him know because he was laughing and talking all this because of that one foul call. His only bucket on me was a banker from half-court.”

Many Warriors fans were quick to draw comparisons between Lendeborg and his mentor Draymond Green, which Smith also pointed out.

“You gotta love that if you’re Draymond [Green],” Smith said. “You’ve got a young rookie coming into this game going up against a superstar in this league, no fear whatsoever going at him, getting in his face talking and accusing him of whining and moaning for help from the officials.”

Green certainly did love that.

“Everybody’s going to be like, ‘Oh man, he shouldn’t talk to Luka. You should not talk to Luka,’ and I disagree with that s— 1,000 percent,” Green said in the locker room postgame. “You f—— gon’ talk to somebody, you talk until you can’t f—— talk no more. And if he busts your ass, guess what? You play him again three more times, and you go back at his ass again. And then you see him the third time, and you go back at his ass again.”

Draymond Green on Yaxel Lendeborg going at Luka Doncic: “Everyone will say the rookie learned his lesson. What he learn? The next time he see him, go at his ass again.”

Full soundbite pic.twitter.com/jb87fMCjJW

— Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) October 22, 2026

Lendeborg didn’t show much interest in letting what happened on the court stay on the court during his postgame press conference, and showed equally little backing down at the podium.

“Being in there firsthand, just watching all the whining and complaining, I lost all respect, man,” Lendeborg said. “That was awful. Like, me getting frustrated, it’s not about the foul being called; it’s about him complaining the entire game. And then you get the foul called, congratulations, bro.”

Yaxel Lendeborg says he has lost all respect for Luka Doncic for how much he whines and complains to refs @NBCSWarriorspic.twitter.com/1sj6GcWLj7

— Dalton Johnson (@DaltonJ_Johnson) October 22, 2026

“You want to talk to me like you did something great? C’mon dog. That’s just weak,” Lendeborg added. “It kind of threw me off for a little while, because, like I said, I had so much respect for him. Gone, man. Gone.” 

Smith supported Lendeborg’s comments and spirit the following morning.

“If you’re so great, stop whining to the officials. Just go out there, and if you’re gonna bust my ass, bust my ass. But stop whining to the officials, looking to them for help,” Smith said, paraphrasing Lendeborg’s sentiment. “If you that bad, what the hell you whining for help all the damn time for?”

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