Golden State Warriors rookie Yaxel Lendeborg thought he was about to get one of the toughest defensive assignments possible in the NBA.
Before Golden State’s preseason game against the Los Angeles Lakers in Las Vegas, Warriors assistant coach Frank Vogel approached Lendeborg with a simple message: he would be guarding Luka Dončić.
Lendeborg’s reaction was immediate.
“I’m on my phone chilling. He walks up to me, ‘Hey, you’re guarding Luka tonight.’ I said, ‘What the f*ck?’” Lendeborg recalled. “I tried to act all cool and not spooked. But I was spooked, man.”
Vogel apparently did not try to make the assignment sound any easier. Lendeborg said the veteran coach reminded him that Dončić is the kind of scorer nobody truly shuts down and essentially told the rookie to do his best.
That left Lendeborg mentally preparing for a direct matchup with one of basketball’s most difficult offensive players. Dončić, however, ultimately did not play, forcing Lendeborg to completely reset his expectations before tipoff.
“Once we come here, they say he’s not playing,” Lendeborg said. “It was a complete shift of what I had planned in my mind.”
Yaxel Lendeborg on Coach Frank Vogel telling him he’d be guarding Luka Doncic in the last preseason game:
“I’m on my phone chilling. He walks up to me, ‘Hey, you’re guarding Luka tonight.’ I said, ‘What the fuck?’ Like, he’s just going to throw me in. I’m like, ‘What the hell?’ So, I tried to act all cool and not spooked. But I was spooked, man. That’s crazy. But yeah, I mean after that he just said like, I think he averages 30 to 35 so he’s like, ‘Nobody can stop him. Do your best.’ I mean, my mind was all over the place after that, but we come here, they say he’s not playing… It was a complete shift of what I had planned in my mind.”
(via @VegasSportsTD)
— aly ✶ (@jinthirty) October 15, 2026
The easier night never really arrived. With Dončić unavailable and Draymond Green also sitting out for Golden State, Lendeborg was instead asked to handle a very different defensive challenge. He spent time at center and matched up with 7-foot-2 Lakers big man Walker Kessler, another demanding assignment for a rookie still learning NBA coverages and positioning.
Lendeborg finished the Warriors’ 101-89 preseason win with 17 points, five rebounds, four assists and two steals in 26 minutes, continuing an encouraging offensive preseason even as Golden State tests how much defensive responsibility he can handle early in his career.
Head coach Steve Kerr has already spoken about areas Lendeborg needs to sharpen defensively, particularly his stance and positioning. At the same time, Golden State has continued giving him difficult assignments as part of his development.
