Yaxel Lendeborg, for now, represents the Warriors’ hope for the post-Steph Curry era of their future alongside Brandin Podziemski. But among the young players, Lendeborg did not give the best first impression to their front office that he is capable of doing so.
In fact, he recently spoke to ESPN and admitted that even before he went to Michigan, he had declared for the 2025 draft out of UAB and met with the Warriors’ front office last year.
At the 2025 NBA Draft combine in Chicago, the Warriors told Lendeborg that they did not like him because he was behaving ‘like a jacka–.’
“I was like, damn, I did that bad?” Lendeborg said. “But thinking back, I guess my answers weren’t as professional. Just giving honest answers like, ‘Yeah, I’m BSing in practice. Yeah, I’m not doing my job in games, but I’m performing.’ I guess I didn’t really give out the good vibe.”
Subsequently, Lendeborg transferred to Michigan and won the national championship in college, which may have played a role in convincing the Warriors’ front office.
“The biggest thing for sure is just practice overall,” Lendeborg said. “I never took practice seriously [until Michigan]. My sleep habits, watching more film.”
His last year in college, Lendeborg averaged 15.1 points, 6.8 rebounds, and 3.2 assists while shooting 51.5% from the field and 37.2% from beyond the arc. A noteworthy difference in his game was a lot more three-point shooting (averages increased from 1.9 to 4.5 three-point shots per game this season).
But Lendeborg admitted that was not the only thing that convinced the Warriors’ front office to draft him after having rejected him a year ago. He revealed he had a meeting with Steve Kerr, where the head coach quizzed him about film to gauge his knowledge of the game.
“I mean, I pretty much gave all the right answers,” Lendeborg said. “Then he asked me what the things that they need to improve on this year were, and I gave him exactly what he was thinking.”
“So I kind of read his mind in a way. And I mean, I feel like that gave me a little bit of an edge. I won him over.”
Steve Kerr also recollects the timeline of events in a similar manner.
“He has a really good natural feel, and we have a direct need for him here,” Kerr said. “I can’t imagine a better situation for him. He’s going to have veteran leadership and a lot of playing time and a lot of coaching. And he embraces the coaching aspect of it.”
Kerr even admitted that Lendeborg could immediately slide into the starting lineup considering both Jimmy Butler and Moses Moody are expected to be sidelined for the season.
“It’s such a position of need,” Kerr said. “Then his positional size alone. We’re in a position now where we can be thinking of development and not just for Yaxel, but for our whole group.”
“We are not in the [championship] conversation. So let’s see what we can do as a group to kind of reestablish what we stand for and how we operate and new beginnings in a lot of ways. All of that is really exciting to me. And Yaxel’s a big part of that.”
Steve Kerr has a reputation for not trusting young talent as much. But Lendeborg somehow managed to win him over.
“I’m sure you can tell from his summer league quotes, there’s no filter,” Kerr added. “I like it. Everyone knows we let guys be who they are here. So he’s going to generate a lot of fans. Our fanbase is really going to enjoy him. He’s fun-loving, loves life, loves the game. He loves passing.”
“He fits in so well because he understands the power of just throwing the ball to the first open guy. And if anything, we’re going to have to work with him to be more aggressive. We’re going to want him to be able to catch the ball at the nail against a switch and get a shot when we don’t have any better options because he can do that.”
This shows how far the pendulum has swung now in Lendeborg’s favor as a result of his discipline and dedication to improving. The Warriors may have found a potential foundational piece for their long-term future.
