Yaxel Lendeborg’s combative start makes him the NBA’s most talked-about rookie
Yaxel Lendeborg, a 24-year-old rookie forward for the Golden State Warriors, has spent the first weeks of the NBA season antagonizing superstars and speaking his mind while delivering notable on-court performances.
Lendeborg’s rise to the NBA followed an unconventional background: he has said he used to spend 12 to 14 hours a day gaming, did not debut on his high school basketball team until he was an upperclassman and admitted he didn’t really watch the NBA before entering the league. In college he helmed Michigan to their first national championship in 37 years and accumulated enough accolades to qualify for the NBA.
Golden State opened the season with a heavy loss to the Los Angeles Lakers in a game that featured repeated on-court exchanges between Lendeborg and Luka Dončić; while Dončić dominated the Warriors overall, he was described as somewhat contained one-on-one by Lendeborg. After that game Lendeborg criticised Dončić in a press conference, saying: "You get the foul call. Congratulations, bro. Then you talk to me like you did something great. C’mon, dog. That shit is weak. It kind of threw me off because I have so much respect for him. Gone, man. Gone." Lendeborg later said that he took his complaints a little far.
Against the Denver Nuggets Lendeborg drew 13 free throws and made 12, finishing with 31 points, 12 rebounds and six assists in that game, and he helped limit Aaron Gordon to seven points. After the performance he publicly sought advice during an interview with a panel of former NBA greats.
Lendeborg continued to produce scoring bursts, posting 37 points in a game against the Los Angeles Clippers. In a rematch with the Lakers the Warriors won, but Dončić repeatedly got the better of Lendeborg, who was benched in that contest and ultimately fouled out.
Off the court and in interviews Lendeborg has resisted conventional media training and leaned into an outspoken persona. A Reddit user commented: "Get this man a PR manager," while Lendeborg told the San Francisco Chronicle, “I’m not doing that, man. I’m going to stay true to myself, and be honest. I’ve seen plenty of interviews where people are talking and it’s like, ‘Man, I don’t want to watch this,’ you know what I mean? And it’s not like I’m click-baiting or click-farming or whatever the heck people are saying.”
In a victory over the Miami Heat Lendeborg drew a foul on Bam Adebayo and recorded 17 points, eight rebounds and six assists, adding three steals and a block, and the Warriors have won six games in a row; observers in the article credited Lendeborg alongside Stephen Curry for the team’s recent form.