Bill Simmons Boldly Likens Warriors Rookie Yaxel Lendeborg To Lebron James

Bill Simmons boldly likens Warriors rookie Yaxel Lendeborg to LeBron James originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

Yaxel Lendeborg was the MVP in the Warriors’ first win of the season Monday over the Denver Nuggets. 

Just four games into the rookie’s career, the hype train is reaching full steam. 

The Ringer’s Bill Simmons, on “The Bill Simmons Podcast,” hopped on the Lendeborg hype train. 

“Yaxel might have single-handedly saved the Steph Era, like for real,” Simmons stated. “I can’t tell you how good he was in this Denver game [Monday] night… 

“…Yaxel looked like mid-2010s LeBron [James] in this game.” 

It’s quite the statement to compare a rookie with four games under his belt to, arguably, the greatest player of all time in his prime.  

And although Simmons qualified his statement beforehand as one of his “overreactions,” he was taking the comparison seriously. 

“I don’t say that lightly, because mid-2010s LeBron was awesome,” Simmons said. “He was doing it. They were running the offense through him. He was all over the place on defense. He was rebounding. He was initiating stuff. He was getting to the basket whenever, it was unbelievable.  

“I couldn’t believe it. I couldn’t believe how good he was.” 

Lendeborg finished with 31 points, 12 rebounds and six assists in Monday’s win. To Simmons’ credit, it does appear like a stat line one would see from James. 

And in the most important moments of the game, coach Steve Kerr said they would “put the ball in his hands.” 

The Warriors’ blowout win and Lendeborg’s performance against the Nuggets forced Simmons to change his outlook on the team’s season. 

“I was convinced before [Monday] night that this was one of the five worst teams in the league and maybe one of the three worst, and the moment Steph got hurt, this was going to be beyond grim,” Simmons said. 

It’s far too early to make any definitive statements about how Lendeborg’s rookie season will play out, or if the Warriors have a legitimate chance to contend for an NBA title, but the new signs of life could give general manager Mike Dunleavy a reason to make an acquisition that moves the needle. 

“I don’t know what this team does long term, because they have Draymond [Green] — $27 million expiring; they have whatever is going on with [Kristaps] Porziņģis at $20 million and could put those two together for something if they wanted,” Simmons explained. “And I keep looking at Sabonis and Sacramento and wondering; if they flip those two for Sabonis… could this team get really interesting when [Jimmy] Butler comes back? 

“I was done with them; Yaxel sucked me back in.” 

The Warriors reportedly are willing to remain patient when it comes to a potential Porziņģis trade. As for Green, it would make sense for the Warriors to wait until Butler’s return before making a decision to move him. Dunleavy and the Warriors have waited to make moves until seeing the total picture with all of their pieces healthy in the past, and it’s hard to see them making a rash decision when it comes to a player who has played his entire 15-year career with the franchise. 

Either way, the rookie has plenty of opportunities ahead of him to move the needle. Entering Wednesday, Lendeborg leads all NBA rookies in scoring with 21.8 points per game, and ranks second in total rebounds, averaging 9.3 per game. 

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