Moment Warriors rookie learns he’s guarding Luka Doncic goes viral: ‘What the f–k’

Read the original at New York Post ↗
Cite

Webeck, E. (2026, October 15). Moment Warriors rookie learns he’s guarding Luka Doncic goes viral: ‘What the f–k’. New York Post. https://nypost.com/2026/10/15/sports/warriors-rookie-luka-doncic-lakers-assignment/

Dated from the outlet's own feed. Check the original for its byline.

New York Post · collected 2026-10-15 · by Evan Webeck

Quick Summary

Warriors rookie Yaxel Lendeborg was initially told by assistant coach Frank Vogel that he would guard Luka Doncic during a preseason game against the Lakers. However, this plan changed when the Warriors found out Doncic wasn’t playing due to coach JJ Redick’s decision. Instead, Lendeborg ended up guarding Walker Kessler, who made his debut for the Lakers with 11 points and nine rebounds in 16 minutes. Lendeborg scored 17 points in 26 minutes despite initially being spooked by the prospect of facing Doncic, a two-time NBA scoring leader.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-10-15, using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the same event (that is the story summary below).

AI analysis runs on qwen2.5:14b, locally

Story summary

Warriors rookie Yaxel Lendeborg's plan to guard Luka Doncic during a preseason game against the Lakers was abruptly changed when he learned Doncic had been given the night off. This unexpected shift left Lendeborg initially disappointed, as evident from his reaction captured on social media. Over his previous three exhibitions, Lendeborg averaged 19 points per game, leading the Warriors to test his defensive skills against a high-profile player like Doncic. Instead, he ended up guarding Lakers center Walker Kessler in the Warriors' 101-89 win. The moment of realization that Doncic wouldn't be playing went viral on social media platforms, highlighting the fast-paced nature of NBA planning and its impact on players.

Written for “Warriors Rookie Guards Luka Doncic” on 2026-10-15, grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 Warriors Rookie Guards Luka Doncic
Sports · 1 article(s) covering the same event.

Compared with similar articles

This article reads unscored and hedges 5% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
New York Post
⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 0% hedged 0 of 16 📰 publisher trust 67
“Article A discusses Walker Kessler's potential debut in a game against the Warriors, while Article B covers an actual preseason game where Lendeborg guarded Kessler after initially expecting to guard Luka Doncic. These are related events but not the same specific occurrence.”
New York Post
⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 12% hedged 3 of 24 📰 publisher trust 67
“Article A discusses Walker Kessler's potential debut in a preseason game against the Warriors, while Article B covers an actual match-up and reaction during that game involving Lendeborg guarding Kessler instead of Luka Doncic. These describe different stages or aspects of the event.”
New York Post
⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 0% hedged 0 of 8 📰 publisher trust 67
“While both articles mention Walker Kessler's preseason debut against the Warriors, Article B focuses on a different aspect involving a rookie player and does not describe the same specific incident as Article A.”
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
22
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
5%
1 of 22 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
not political
takes no side on a contested political question
Publisher signals
67/100
New York Post's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
1
Sports
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-10-15 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

New York Post · 10569 article(s) · 30 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 30 correction(s)

Who wrote this

Evan Webeck
35 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 He might be the one defender disappointed to miss Luka Doncic.
🔮 Burton provides more depth at a position of need for the Warriors, who are stocked full in the back court but will be without their top two wings, Jimmy Butler and Moses Moody, for the first portion of the season.
🔮 Trent Williams and Dominic Puni were called for holding, a rollicking crowd of 68,684 forced a false start and Greenlaw was ejected after drawing a personal foul.
🔮 The 49ers may have already logged almost 16,000 round-trip miles in the air, but they haven’t used a silent count on offense once.
🔮 It was him, Brock Purdy and, uh, well, actually none of the other skill position players that will take the field on Sunday.
🔮 SANTA CLARA — Just like Fred Warner and so many other 49ers defenders, all Mykel Williams could do was watch as his rookie season came to an unsatisfying end this past January.
🔮 Perhaps Greenlaw thought he would escape scot-free.
🔮 Actually, that was feedback straight from the floor — speedy new point guard Brandon Williams and backcourt mate De’Anthony Melton, speaking to reporters after the game.
🔮 He might have gotten there even faster if Kittle didn’t have his eyes on former teammate Talanoa Hufanga trailing him on the scoreboard above the south end zone.
🔮 At 4-0, the 49ers would surely like to win next week in Seattle, but it’s hardly a necessity.
Also by Evan Webeck
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 35 articles by Evan Webeck →

Topics

Lakers NBA Warriors the American Athletic Conference the Big Ten

Subjects

Lendeborg PERSON · 7× Warriors ORG · 4× Doncic PERSON · 3× Lakers ORG · 3× NBA ORG · 3× Vogel PERSON · 2× JJ Redick PERSON · 1× Luka Doncic PERSON · 1× Walker Kessler PERSON · 1× Yaxel Lendeborg PERSON · 1×

Narrative

Lendeborg had held his own on offense, averaging 19 points per game over his previous three exhibitions, and the Warriors decided they wanted to put the No. 11 pick’s defensive versatility to the test.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-10-15
🔮 He might be the one defender disappointed to miss Luka Doncic.

Claims (22 extracted, 1 hedged)

He might be the one defender disappointed to miss Luka Doncic. uncertain
He → disappoint → Doncic
Warriors rookie Yaxel Lendeborg got a taste for how quickly things can change in the NBA ahead of his preseason game Tuesday night against the Lakers. asserted
things → get → Lakers
Ultimately, the 6-foot-9, 241-pounder ended up matched up with Lakers center Walker Kessler, who made his preseason debut in the Warriors’ 101-89 exhibition win. asserted
who → end → win
But, as Lendeborg explained in entertaining fashion afterward, that wasn’t the initial plan. asserted
that → explain → fashion
“It was a complete shift of what I had planned in my mind,” he told reporters. asserted
he → plan → reporters
Doncic was given the night off by coach JJ Redick, but the Warriors didn’t know that when they were going over the defensive plan of attack leading up to tipoff. asserted
they → give → tipoff
Lendeborg had held his own on offense, averaging 19 points per game over his previous three exhibitions, and the Warriors decided they wanted to put the No. 11 pick’s defensive versatility to the test. asserted
they → hold → test
Lendeborg did a double-take when assistant coach Frank Vogel informed him of his assignment. asserted
Vogel → do → assignment
“I’m on my phone chilling and [Vogel] comes up to me, ‘Hey, you’re guarding Luka tonight,’” Lendeborg recalled. asserted
Lendeborg → ’m → Luka
“I said, ‘What the f–k? You’re just gonna throw me in the fire?’” asserted
You → say → fire
The rookie’s eyes widened as he shook his head retelling the story at his locker after the game. asserted
he → widen → game
“I tried to act all cool, but I was spooked,” he said. asserted
he → try → ?
Doncic led the NBA in scoring for the second time in his career last season, averaging 33.5 points per game on a league-high 22.8 shots from the field and 10.1 attempts at the foul line. asserted
Doncic → lead → line
“I think [Vogel] said he averages like 30, 35. asserted
he → think → 35
Nobody can stop him, so do your best,” Lendeborg said. asserted
Lendeborg → stop → him
A short while later, Lendeborg learned he wouldn’t have to try to stay in front of the 6-8, 230-pound Doncic. asserted
he → learn → Doncic
He’d instead be giving up 5 inches to the 7-2 Kessler. asserted
He → give → Kessler
In his first game in a Lakers uniform, Kessler scored 11 points and grabbed nine rebounds in 16 minutes. asserted
Kessler → score → minutes
Lendeborg got to the line nine times and scored 17 points in 26 minutes. asserted
Lendeborg → get → minutes
It wasn’t exactly what he had in mind. asserted
he → have → mind
But he learned another lesson along the way. asserted
he → learn → way
In the NBA, change can come in a moment’s notice — he’d better be ready. asserted
he → come → notice
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