Michigan basketball star trolls Tom Izzo with interesting AI picture - Spartan Avenue
A Michigan basketball player utilized generative AI to create and share a trolling image of Michigan State coach Tom Izzo on social media
- Incident date
- Jun 2026
- Target
- Tom Izzo
In June 2026, a Michigan basketball player engaged in a social media trolling campaign against Michigan State coach Tom Izzo by sharing an AI-generated image. The post appeared during the college basketball offseason following Michigan's national championship victory.
What happened
Yaxel Lendeborg, a player for the Michigan Wolverines, posted an AI-generated image to his Instagram account featuring Michigan coach Dusty May dunking on a crying Tom Izzo. The image was reportedly created using a prompt specifically designed to depict this scenario. The resulting graphic showed signs of its artificial origin, including a visible split screen of Michigan and Michigan State fans in the background of the composition. This incident occurred in the wake of Michigan's successful season, which included a sweep of the regular-season series against Michigan State and a national title win. The post served as a continuation of the rivalry tensions between the two programs.