Yaxel Lendeborg isn’t waiting around to find out what kind of rookie season he can have. The Warriors’ first-year forward has already put a target on the board, and it’s a big one.
“I'm gonna try to average 15 points, by like six rebounds and like three, four assists,” Lendeborg said while streaming on Kick. “That's, I'm gonna make that the bare minimum for me. If I get under that, then I'm ass.”
That’s a confident line, but it’s not coming out of nowhere. Lendeborg spent Summer League backing up the swagger, putting together a run that earned him MVP honors. Across six games in Las Vegas, he averaged 14.8 points, 6.8 rebounds and four assists while shooting 46% from the field and 36% from three.
He finished the event in style, too. In the championship game, Lendeborg posted 21 points, 10 rebounds, two assists and two steals as Golden State beat Cameron Boozer and the Memphis Grizzlies to claim the Summer League title.
What made the stretch even more eye-catching was how much more there seemed to be in the tank. Lendeborg said he was not even in full playing shape, noting that he had taken about a month off after his final college season at Michigan ended. Even so, he still put up the highest Box Plus/Minus ever recorded by a rookie in Summer League history at 15.9, and the gap to the next closest player was wide.
Now comes the harder part: turning that summer burst into real NBA production. The 11th overall pick out of Michigan joins a Warriors team that needs him right away. Jimmy Butler is sidelined until late winter, and Moses Moody is also out for the season, which leaves Golden State looking for frontcourt minutes and defensive help from day one.
That’s where Lendeborg fits. He’s being asked to create offense, hold his own against bigger wings, and do it alongside the veteran backbone of Stephen Curry and Draymond Green.
Summer League doesn’t always carry over cleanly, and everyone around the league knows that. Still, with Lendeborg’s size, shooting touch and opportunity, his own bar doesn’t sound outlandish. If he gets anywhere near it, the Warriors may have found exactly the kind of difference-maker they were hoping for.
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