Yaxel Lendeborg: The Top U.S. Search Wore a Michael Myers Costume, Begged for a Challenge 42 Times, and Fouled Out
Golden State's rookie is the country's newest search this morning after a Halloween-eve night against Luka Doncic that had everything except a good stat line - six points, six fouls, and a win his teammates had to get for him.
The newest No. 1 search in the United States this morning is a Golden State rookie most of the country could not have named a month ago. 'Yaxel lendeborg' leads the U.S. today listing at 20,000-plus searches, after a Halloween-eve NBA Cup night against the Los Angeles Lakers that kept finding new ways to go viral.
It started before tipoff. Lendeborg arrived at Chase Center wearing a Michael Myers costume from the film Halloween. He told reporters afterward that he had tried to get a Nick Cannon costume from 'Love Don't Cost a Thing,' but it did not come in time, so he went to a Spirit Halloween store the day before and took the only thing they had in his size, according to USA Today's postgame report.
The game itself was rougher. Matched again with Luka Doncic - eight days after saying he had lost respect for the Lakers star - Lendeborg held Doncic to 1-for-3 shooting when he guarded him in the first quarter, but Doncic scored 21 in that quarter against everyone else and finished with 37. Lendeborg fouled out with six points on 2-of-3 shooting, five turnovers and a minus-20 in 24 minutes, the worst mark on his team, in a game Golden State still won 112-95. Coach Steve Kerr framed it afterward as a night every young player has, and one not to dwell on.
The moment the internet kept, though, was smaller: a second-quarter out-of-bounds call Lendeborg was certain was wrong. By Larry Brown Sports' unofficial count, he twirled his finger - the challenge signal - 42 times pleading with Kerr to review it. Kerr did, the call was overturned, and Golden State got the ball. A rookie who scored 26 points at Minnesota on Wednesday can have a six-point Halloween and still own the morning's search chart; that is the whole story of the night.
