Yaxel Lendeborg, the No. 11 pick, played a starring role on the national champion Michigan Wolverines. If the Warriors are able to piece together another competitive campaign around Stephen Curry, Lendeborg figures to be a significant piece of that puzzle, too.
It feels sensible to spotlight him here, then, even if he doesn’t have the highest ceiling among his draft classmates. He’ll enter the Association with tons of attention and even more expectations, and so far, he seems up to the task.
Now, he should look good here, since, at 23 years old, he has biological advantages over many of his competitors. Still, the same areas that earned him high marks before the draft—versatility, instincts and a clear impact on winning—are scoring well again.
He has been a helpful scorer so far, but that’s not the most encouraging column on his stat sheet. That nod goes to his three-point shooting (6-of-12, 50 percent), which could be massive if it sustains, given the spacing constraints tied to rotation mainstays like Draymond Green and, when healthy, Jimmy Butler.
Beyond the shooting, Lendeborg has also put a healthy gap between his assists (10) and turnovers (four). He has also posted a massive plus-40 across two Las Vegas outings. That stat can be misleading, but this feels like a testament to his across-the-board impact and two-way playmaking. And while his defense hasn’t always lived up to expectations, it sounds like conditioning is the biggest culprit there.
