Yaxel Lendeborg was an athletic, do-everything 6-9 forward at Michigan who helped lead the Wolverines to a national championship. He was a Sporting News First Team All-American, wildly productive, and had a skill set that translated perfectly to the NBA.
He was also set to be 24 years old on opening day of the NBA season, making him the oldest prospect who was drafted in his class. The hit rate on older lottery prospects has not been good, which helped precipitate his fall down to the No. 11 pick.
That selection now looks like a steal for Golden State. Through his first seven games, Lendeborg has averaged 22.3 points, 7.3 rebounds, and 3.7 assists per game for the Warriors. He's doing it on terrific efficiency, hitting 52 percent of his field goals and 41 percent of his 3's.
In one of the most heralded classes of recent memory, Lendeborg is the surprising front-runner for Rookie of the Year. And his hot start looks very real.
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How Yaxel Lendeborg disproved the draft criticisms
There was some reasonable skepticism surrounding Lendeborg's age during the predraft process. Chris Duarte, Buddy Hield, Tyler Hansbrough, Al Thornton, Rafael Araujo, and Melvin Ely were the only other players selected in the lottery at age 24 or older during the 2000's. None of those players were huge successes in the league. Dominating college as a much older player usually is not a strong indicator of NBA success.
What that analysis missed was the unique circumstances around Lendeborg. He was a very late bloomer that wasn't on the radar of scouts since high school like Cameron Boozer, Darryn Peterson, or AJ Dybantsa.
"Five years ago, he was in junior college in Yuma, Arizona," Steve Kerr noted on Sunday. "And now he's getting 37 in NBA games. It's an incredible story."
MORE: Michigan's Yaxel Lendeborg poses an age-old problem in NBA Draft
Lendeborg was more interested in video games than hoops during high school. He had no ambitions of even playing at the college level. A heart-to-heart from his mother motivated him to focus more on the game, and successful stints at Arizona Western and UAB earned him the opportunity to shine at Michigan.
Lendeborg has a unique personality, and his free-spirited approach to life may also have scared some teams off. Those concerns have also looked overblown. Rather than a negative, Lendeborg's personality has thus far been a positive. He's been very eager to ask veterans for advice, soaking up information like a sponge from teammates Stephen Curry and Draymond Green along with other veterans like Aaron Gordon and even former players Tracy McGrady and Vince Carter.
Even through his mistakes, Lendeborg's personality has shined. He had an ugly seven turnovers against the Wolves. He has often said that he's his own harshest critic, and Steve Kerr affirmed that by telling media after that performance that "he feels terrible in there. He’s not happy. And yet he had 26 points and eight boards. It’s a great lesson for him."
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Yaxel Lendeborg's success on the court is mostly real
One of the on-court criticisms of Lendeborg during the predraft process was how well his 3-pointer would translate to the league. Hit hit on just 34.9 percent of his attempts on very low volume at UAB before connecting on a much better 37.2 percent of 4.5 attempts per game in his lone year at Michigan.
Lendeborg has been even better in the NBA, taking 6.3 3's per game and connecting on 40.9 percent of those shots. His pull-up 3 has been a real weapon.
Yaxel is special, man https://t.co/6qiSIp46hN
— Joe Viray (@JoeVirayNBA) November 2, 2026That percentage is probably above his true ability. But if he remains an average to above-average shooter, he will be a star in the NBA because the rest of his game is so strong.
Lendeborg was a good finisher in college. He's been excellent with the Warriors thus far too. His 21-of-31 on shots at the rim ranks in the 71st percentile of all players. He has great size, athleticism, and touch near the basket. He's also been impressive from midrange, hitting on 52 percent of those shots. When he's had smaller defenders on him, he's gone right through them.
Lendeborg is also a good passer who reads the game very well on offense. Kerr's motion-heavy system has been a perfect fit for him. The team has installed several sets to let him make decisions at the elbow, in the post in Draymond Green's decision-making role, flying off screens in Kevin Durant's favorite Warriors play, or going to work as a pick-and-roll ballhandler. And when he has gotten advantageous matchups, he's been outstanding in isolations, ranking in the 98th percentile of the league.
Aside from simply making a lot of shots, Lendeborg has shown that his skill set is going to work at the next level. His success thus far is not a fluke.
Yaxel Lendeborg still has a runway to get even better
As good as Lendeborg has been, there is room to improve, particularly on defense. He was outstanding on that end of the floor at Michigan, and he has shown signs of that at the NBA. But he doesn't know most of the tendencies of the players he is guarding.
"He's playing this way and he really doesn't know the NBA game yet," Kerr said on Sunday. "He's going to get a lot better."
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Lendeborg also hasn't been particularly attuned as an off-ball defender, where he doesn't have an intuitive grasp of NBA rotations. Once those become more instinctual to him, he should have a massive impact as a two-way star.
Lendeborg may not end up as the best player in his class. The other 19 and 20 year olds do have more room to grow than he does. But he is going to be one of the best, and he looks like he's going to have the fastest start. If the season ended today, he would be a deserving Rookie of the Year, and one that we probably shouldn't have been so surprised about.
