The Golden State Warriors defeated the Dallas Mavericks tonight, 101-90, as the rookie starlet Yaxel Lendeborg balled out in Vegas. He stuffed the box score to do a little bit of everything to get this win for the Warriors.
Lendeborg finished the game with 21 points, 10 rebounds, and six assists while shooting 8-13 from the floor (61.5 FG%) and 2-4 from behind the three-point line (50.0 3P%). Even though he has played in previous games like the California Classic against the Lakers, this was his debut at the Vegas edition of the Summer League.
The Warriors’ fans were thoroughly impressed with the 23-year-old, who is slowly beginning to prove why he rightly deserved to be a first-round lottery pick. They flooded social media with reactions to his performance.
“Bro is already better than Darryn Peterson. 💀”
“Finally, Steph will get a competent PF.”
“He’s the great Draymond replacement.”
“We’re winning Rookie of the Year!”
“Age is just a number when you ball out like this in the Summer League.”
“Perfect fit for the team!”
“Good start, but the NBA is different. Let’s see how he plays against the real pros.”
Lendeborg displayed sparks of his elite athleticism as well. He threw down some nasty dunks in transition, which had him fired up, especially since he was playing against his former college teammate, Morez Johnson Jr.
YAXEL LENDEBORG NASTY SLAM 😤
The Warriors got a gem 💎 pic.twitter.com/wCkF11i0XC
— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) July 10, 2026
Following the game, he spoke about his performance and how he’s preparing himself for some elite physicality in the league that he’s witnessing through these games.
He spoke to Vanessa Richardson, the sideline reporter, after the game and gave his takeaways from this win, which include an admission of needing to work on his body to build more muscle.
“Felt amazing, felt really good to go out there, play against Rez and win. Felt good to go out there and beat Rez, for all the times he did me dirty in practice,” said Lendeborg.
“But you know, this is what the Warriors saw in me, my versatility, so showcasing that is what I’m going to try to do in the rest of the Summer League and the rest of my career here.”
“I mean, the NBA is all about physicality. I still have to put on a few more pounds of muscle, got to learn how to use my strength a little bit more. But I definitely plan on playing more physically than I have already. I feel like that’s the name of the game, physicality, so I’ll do my best to get strong and become better at doing it.”
But he later graded this performance a C or a C- on his scale of expectations from himself. It will be fascinating to see if Lendeborg can close out the Summer League as strongly as he started it.
The Warriors have three games left in the Summer League, with their schedule ending on July 16 (since they will likely not be going to the championship game). They are now set to face the Oklahoma City Thunder on Sunday night, July 12.
