The Warriors didn’t just beat Denver on Monday night. They walked into Ball Arena and turned Nikola Jokić and the Nuggets into the backdrop for a lineup that’s suddenly stealing the show.
Golden State’s best three-man group through the opening week of the 2026-27 season has been a surprise in every direction: rookie Yaxel Lendeborg, Brandin Podziemski, and Gui Santos. In 31 minutes together, that trio owns the NBA’s top three-man net rating at plus-69, powered by a 144 offensive rating and a 75 defensive rating per 100 possessions.
The numbers are outrageous, but the eye test matched them in Denver. The Warriors rolled to a 134-114 win that felt as one-sided as the final score, and the engine behind it was a group that plays with force, pace, and no interest in waiting around for someone else to set the tone.
Lendeborg has been the headliner so far. Through his first four career games, the 24-year-old is averaging 21.8 points, 9.3 rebounds, and 4.8 assists while getting to the line nearly eight times a night. Against Denver, he was everywhere: 31 points, 12 rebounds, six assists, 12-of-13 from the free-throw line, and a plus-27.
Steve Kerr made clear afterward that the rookie isn’t being treated like a novelty act.
“In all the critical spots, we put the ball in his hands,” Steve Kerr said after the win. “For a rookie to be that advanced already is extremely rare. … He’s going to be a guy who closes games.”
Kerr doubled down on that assessment.
“He’s strong as an ox and skilled, and the way the game is played, he’s gonna be able to get to the [free-throw] line a ton,” Kerr said. “You saw it tonight. … If the other team goes on a run, you go to a guy like Yax or Jimmy [Butler], they get fouled, the game slows down and you set your defense.”
That said, this isn’t a one-man show. Podziemski has been just as central to the early run, especially in his first two games. He’s averaging 18 points on 15 shots a night, and against the Nuggets he put up 18 points, seven rebounds, five assists, and a game-best plus-33.
“Brandin really knows how to play,” Kerr said. “He knows how to get people the ball. When you have both [him and Lendeborg] on the floor, there’s just a lot that can happen in order to attack the defense.”
Santos has been the quieter piece, but he’s no less important. He finished Monday with 13 points on 5-of-6 shooting in 28 minutes and a plus-18. He’s finding seams in defenses, helping on the glass, and showing the confidence to create his own shot.
The common thread is obvious: all three can pass, handle, attack, and compete on the boards. They bring physicality.
They cut. They screen.
They don’t just stand around watching Steph Curry and Draymond Green work.
Curry, for his part, was perfect Monday with 24 points on 8-of-8 shooting. Green added seven assists and kept the offense humming while helping direct the defense. But the night belonged to the younger wave.
That was reflected in the on-off numbers too. Golden State was plus-7 with Curry on the floor, but plus-13 with him off. Lendeborg drove much of that swing: the Warriors were plus-25 with him playing and minus-5 without him.
The fit is what makes this so dangerous. Lendeborg, Podziemski, and Santos form a switchable 2-3-4 group that can punch first and keep punching. It won’t look this clean every night, and Denver was a favorable matchup, but when the trio hits its stride, it gives Golden State something it has needed: a lineup that can tilt the floor in a hurry.
In Other News...
Giants Catcher Shuffle Left One Offseason Question Impossible To Ignore
Eric Haases stop with the Giants was always built around necessity, but it still became a useful snapshot of how thin the catching depth chart got over the course of the season. Signed to a minor league deal before the 2026 campaign, Haase was pressed into service in April after Daniel Susac got hurt, then stuck around long enough to give San Francisco a veteran presence behind the plate while the roster waited for help.
The production never really followed, and the Giants moved on July 23 to clear a spot for Susacs return after Haase hit .162/.235/.365 in 74 at-bats. Haase has since landed on minor league deals with the White Sox and Braves, but his exit leaves San Francisco back where it started, with inexperienced catchers on hand and a front office that may have to hunt for a more seasoned answer this offseason. [Read more 🡒]
Giants Face A Bullpen Decision That Could Test Their Patience
When the Giants wrapped up the 2026 season, JT Brubaker stood alone as the only player on the roster with an expiring contract, and he has now officially hit free agency. Used mostly out of the bullpen, Brubaker gave San Francisco a useful stretch of innings across 41 appearances, finishing with a 3.58 ERA over 60.1 innings and giving the club another arm it could lean on in a long season.
The question now is whether that production is enough to earn a return trip to San Francisco. Brubaker is expected to draw a one-year offer worth about $3.6 million, but the Giants have plenty of pitching depth and may decide their bullpen needs can be met elsewhere, leaving a familiar but not indispensable reliever in a holding pattern as the market takes shape. [Read more 🡒]
Giants Face A Tough Ryan Walker Decision That Could End His Run
Ryan Walkers rough 2026 season has put the Giants in a familiar winter spot, weighing performance against roster reality. The right-handed reliever struggled to the tune of a 7.16 ERA and an elevated walk rate, numbers that made him hard to trust in late-game spots and harder still to project as the club sorts through its bullpen for next year.
The timing only adds to the pressure, with San Francisco already at 51 players on the 40-man roster and the non-tender deadline looming on Nov. 20. Walker still has two minor league options left, but the Giants have to trim somewhere, and his recent track record makes him one of the more vulnerable names in the mix as the front office tries to carve out space for a roster that needs cleaner answers. [Read more 🡒]