Coach Steve Kerr's Golden State Warriors have ignited a new rivalry against Luka Doncic and the Los Angeles Lakers this season behind Yaxel Lendeborg, whose feud with the LA star became the topic of a Gary Payton take ahead of their October 30 game. ESPN's Stephen A. Smith has his popcorn ready for the game, which comes days after Lendeborg called out Doncic for whining to the officials to draw foul calls, saying he lost all respect for him.
Lendeborg sensed the gravity, and the levity, of the moment walking into the game as he donned a spot-on costume from ‘Halloween” villain Michael Myers heading into the matchup.
Yaxel Lendeborg pulled up to Chase as Michael Myers 😂 pic.twitter.com/0PU8hiQOUQ
— Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) October 30, 2026
Lendeborg dropped 26 points on 11-of-20 shooting against the Minnesota Timberwolves on October 28, including 2-of-5 from downtown. He added nine rebounds, but turned the ball over seven times, suggesting he has gotten a greenlight to score from head coach Steve Kerr but also that he has a lot of work to do to tighten up his ballhandling.
Doncic famously dropped 28 points on the Warriors during the two teams' first meeting, although he wasn't guarded often by the rookie Lendeborg. Doncic may face off against Lendeborg more this time around in a game the Warriors rookie has been circling on his calendar.
Article Continues BelowWarriors superstar Stephen Curry has given counsel to Lendeborg, along with Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards, this season as he's embraced his mentor role. Curry has enough left in the tank to take over games, as evidenced by the 23 points he scored in just 21 minutes of action during the two teams' first game.
Lendeborg clearly has a kill-or-be-killed mentality heading into Friday night's contest against Doncic. If he can back up his words from before, he will launch his new calling as a possible star heading into the meat of the Warriors' schedule.