Yaxel Lendeborg keeps giving Golden State something real to hold onto.
While the Warriors stumbled to a third straight loss to open the season - a 131-122 defeat to the Phoenix Suns on Saturday - Lendeborg was busy carving out a piece of NBA history. He became the equal fastest player ever to reach 50 points, 25 rebounds and 10 assists in his career, a rare milestone that underlines just how much production he has packed into the opening stretch.
The 11th overall pick split much of his damage across a back-to-back set. He put up 18 points, 13 rebounds and six assists, along with three steals, against the Memphis Grizzlies on Friday.
Then he followed that up in Phoenix with 26 points, nine rebounds and five assists. That kind of two-night output has made him the one clear bright spot for Golden State so far.
For now, Lendeborg looks like the team’s second-best player behind Stephen Curry, at least until Jimmy Butler returns from injury. And even then, there’s no certainty Butler comes back playing above the level Lendeborg has already shown.
It’s a rough burden for a player this early in his career, but the production is impossible to ignore. He’s already put himself in the Rookie of the Year conversation, and his game keeps flashing the kind of versatility that makes fans dream bigger.
Lendeborg’s toolkit shows up in a lot of different ways. He can overpower defenders in the paint thanks to his size, strength and athleticism, but he also has the handle to actually get there.
In Phoenix, the outside shot was there too: he knocked down 6 of 11 from three after taking only seven attempts across his first two games. Add in his passing touch, whether in transition or as a pick-and-roll ball-handler, and there’s a lot he already does well.
There are still real rough edges, though, especially on defense. After the loss in Phoenix, Steve Kerr was blunt about where things stand.
"His weak-side awareness right now is very poor. And with his size, he should be one of our best defenders at the rim. And right now, he's unaware on the weak-side," Kerr said.
Even with that critique, Lendeborg showed flashes on that end late, including a block on a Devin Booker pull-up jump-shot. And with the Warriors leaning on him so heavily on both sides, it’s not hard to imagine more records falling as the season goes on.
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