LOS ANGELES — In the Lakers' first game of life after LeBron James, Luka Dončić made one thing unmistakably clear: this is his team now. Playing just three quarters, the superstar poured in 28 points, eight rebounds and seven assists — and banked in a stunning half-court buzzer-beater to close the first half — as Los Angeles opened the 2026-27 NBA season with a 127-105 rout of the Golden State Warriors on Wednesday night at Crypto.com Arena.
For all the pyrotechnics on the scoreboard, the storyline that dominated the postgame was the running verbal battle between Dončić and Warriors rookie Yaxel Lendeborg. The 23-year-old first-round pick spent his NBA debut chirping at one of the league's biggest stars — and walked out of the building telling reporters he had "lost all respect" for Dončić.
How a Rookie's 'Welcome to the NBA' Moment Turned Into a Full-Blown Feud
Lendeborg arrived in the league with credentials and confidence to match. A 23-year-old Dominican forward selected 11th overall in the 2026 draft after averaging 15.1 points, 6.8 rebounds and 3.2 assists in his lone season at Michigan, he was also named MVP of the 2026 Summer League championship game after dropping 21 points and 10 rebounds. On opening night, he drew the Dončić assignment and immediately went to work — mostly with his mouth.
"I was telling him he sucks," Lendeborg said with a smile. "'You can't score on me.' I said it the whole game. I said a couple of cuss words, obviously. That's why I got the technical and all that, but I don't care."
The jawing reached its boiling point in the second quarter, when Lendeborg was whistled for a technical foul. Dončić responded the only way he knows how. With the final seconds of the half ticking away, he pulled up from just inside the half-court line, banked the shot home at the buzzer to give the Lakers a 66-52 cushion, then turned and pointed directly at Lendeborg as the Crypto.com Arena crowd roared. At one point earlier in the half, Dončić had gotten Lendeborg to bite on a pump fake, spun free and clapped with glee as the rookie watched.
"He was talking crazy," Dončić said afterward. "But I wasn't trying to talk back. This season, I'm not trying to get techs."
From First Whistle to Final Buzzer: How the Night Unfolded
The opener was a statement before it was ever a blowout. Here is how the night played out:
First quarter: Golden State came out firing, dropping 33 points, while Dončić and Lendeborg began their running dialogue. The rookie's fearlessness was unmistakable, even as he was learning in real time that poking Dončić carries a price.
Second quarter: The back-and-forth escalated into a technical foul on Lendeborg after he directed "a couple of cuss words" at Dončić. Dončić closed the half with his half-court bank shot, staking the Lakers to a 66-52 lead at the break.
Second half: Los Angeles pulled away for good. New center Walker Kessler, the 7-foot-2 shot-blocker acquired from Utah in July, delivered a perfect Lakers debut — 26 points on 12-for-12 shooting with nine rebounds and two blocks — while Austin Reaves added 23 points and six assists. Dončić finished 7-of-18 from the field, 5-of-12 from deep and 9-of-9 from the free-throw line before sitting out the fourth quarter.
Postgame: Lendeborg doubled down, Dončić shrugged it off, and Draymond Green rushed to his rookie's defense.
Why Lendeborg's 'Lost All Respect' Jab Cut Deeper Than the Score
Lendeborg wasn't finished after the final buzzer. He told reporters he entered his first NBA game with admiration for Dončić and left feeling the opposite.
"I had a lot of respect for him — seeing him kill people all the time," Lendeborg said. "But then being in it firsthand, just watching all the whining and complaining, I lost all respect."
The comment landed because it reignited the longest-running criticism of Dončić's game: his habit of pleading with officials. It also handed Golden State a ready-made rivalry storyline — one Green, a connoisseur of on-court feuds, was eager to fuel. Green encouraged Lendeborg to keep talking and invoked his own history with Kevin Durant to argue that a rookie who stands his ground is worth more than one who stays quiet.
Not everyone was charmed. Mavericks forward Naji Marshall, a former Dončić teammate in Dallas, fired off a public warning to the rookie, while new Lakers forward Ziaire Williams — who got into a brief scuffle with Dončić back in March, when Williams was still a Brooklyn Net — was happy to be on the other side of the fire this time.
"It's funny how the NBA works," Williams said, reflecting on going from jawing with Dončić as an opponent to sharing a locker room with him. In 24 minutes off the bench on opening night, he contributed nine points, three rebounds and four assists to the winning cause.
Beneath the noise, there was a clear signal from Dončić: the version of him that chases technicals may be gone. "This season, I'm not trying to get techs," he repeated — a small but meaningful pledge from a player who has long worn his emotions on his sleeve.
Where Things Stand: Lakers Roll to 1-0 as Lendeborg Doubles Down
For all the chatter, the basketball result was never in doubt by the final frame. The Lakers' revamped rotation — headlined by Kessler's flawless debut and Reaves' steady play — looked every bit the contender Los Angeles has assembled around Dončić. The 22-point win, secured with Dončić resting for the entire fourth quarter, was the kind of complete performance that fuels championship talk in the franchise's first season without LeBron James.
Lendeborg, meanwhile, showed enough fight and enough defensive backbone that both Golden State's coaching staff and Green praised his fearlessness, technical foul and all. In the hours after the game, the rookie added a cryptic social media post, a clear nod that this storyline is far from settled.
What Comes Next: A Rematch, a Warning and a Target on a Rookie's Back
The Lakers and Warriors will meet again soon enough, and when they do, all eyes will be on Dončić and Lendeborg. For the rookie, the task now is converting the bravado into sustained production; for Dončić, it is proving that a calmer approach can coexist with the fiery brilliance that has made him one of the sport's most feared scorers.
Marshall's warning and Green's endorsement are two sides of the same coin: Lendeborg has announced himself to the league, but he has also painted a target on his own back — and given Dončić, in particular, a reason to remember his name.
The Bottom Line: Lakers' Opener Had Everything
Here is what to take away from opening night in Los Angeles:
- The Lakers beat the Warriors 127-105 on Oct. 21, 2026, to open the season 1-0 in their first game without LeBron James.
- Dončić finished with 28 points, eight rebounds and seven assists in three quarters, plus a banked half-court buzzer-beater at halftime.
- Walker Kessler was perfect in his Lakers debut: 26 points on 12-for-12 shooting with nine rebounds and two blocks.
- Warriors rookie Yaxel Lendeborg said he "lost all respect" for Dončić after jawing at him all night and called him a complainer.
- Dončić's reply: "He was talking crazy. But I wasn't trying to talk back. This season, I'm not trying to get techs."
- Draymond Green backed his rookie, while former Dončić teammate Naji Marshall issued a warning.
