Charles Barkley Praises Steve Kerr's ‘faith' In Warriors Rookie Yaxel Lendeborg

Charles Barkley praises Steve Kerr's ‘faith' in Warriors rookie Yaxel Lendeborg originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

Warriors rookie Yaxel Lendeborg has been given a mandate to be a scoring machine, and he has not wasted the opportunity.  

Through 12 games, Lendeborg is averaging 21.7 points per game. Among NBA rookies, he is second only to Sacramento Kings gunslinger Darius Acuff Jr. 

Basketball Hall of Famer Charles Barkley, on ESPN’s “Inside the NBA,” credited coach Steve Kerr with allowing the Warriors rookie to let it rip. 

“Yaxel is playing with tremendous confidence…” Barkley said Wednesday during halftime in the Warriors’ loss to the Houston Rockets, “…he’s got a purple-green light. He is going to shoot it. Shout out to Steve Kerr for giving him the ability. He’s got a reckless abandon.” 

It’s a positive “reckless abandon” that Barkley describes, allowing Lendeborg to score a game-high 25 points Wednesday in Houston after Steph Curry exited the game due to injury. 

Lendeborg’s confidence was evident in June when the Warriors selected him in the 2026 NBA Draft, and Barkley notes that Kerr has done well to allow that confidence to flourish early in his career. 

“Steve Kerr has got a lot of faith in this kid; he said it publicly,” Barkley explained. “And one of the superpowers of coaches… a coach can’t give you confidence, but he can take your confidence. And that sounds so simple, but it’s really, really important… 

“…He is just letting it go. So shout out to Yaxel for playing with confidence.” 

Lendeborg is the second-leading scorer on the Warriors behind Curry, who is now out for at least two weeks due to an oblique abdominal tear suffered Wednesday. 

With Curry out, Kerr will need to continue to foster his rookie’s confidence. It might be the only way that the Warriors can stay afloat while their superstar is out.

In the two games Curry missed so far this season, the Warriors are 1-1. Lendeborg led the Warriors both times in Curry’s absence, scoring 26 and 37 points, respectively. 

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