Warriors' Yaxel Lendeborg's Off-court Curiosity Leads To Early On-court Success

Warriors' Yaxel Lendeborg's off-court curiosity leads to early on-court success originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

Warriors rookie Yaxel Lendeborg already is joining the statistical company of all-time greats. 

In only his fourth career NBA game, Lendeborg produced his first 30-point game Monday night, dropping 31 against the Denver Nuggets on the road to give the Warriors their first win of the 2026-27 NBA season. His 31 points were the most by a Warriors rookie since Eric Paschall scored 34 against the Portland Trail Blazers on Nov. 4, 2019. Nothing against Paschall, but let’s get back to talking about Hall of Famers. 

Lendeborg also grabbed 12 rebounds and handed out six assists in Denver. He’s only the third Warriors rookie to ever have at least 31 points, 12 rebounds and six assists in a single game. The other two? Rick Barry and Wilt Chamberlain. 

The Warriors took 21 free throws and Lendeborg accounted for 13 of them, making 12. The last Warriors rookie to make 12 free throws in a game was Steph Curry against the Blazers on April 14, 2010. That was Curry’s 80th game as a pro, which also was the final game of the regular season. Lendeborg just accomplished the feat playing his fourth game in the NBA. 

His 87 points through four games are the second-most ever by a Warriors rookie in that span, trailing only Chamberlain, who dropped a ridiculous 150. Adding 12 rebounds made Lendeborg the first Warriors rookie to have multiple double-doubles in their first four games since Barry in 1965, and the seventh ever in franchise history. 

Four of the previous six were inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame. So yeah, Lendeborg is in pretty good company.

Numerous articles have rightfully been written about the incredible stats Lendeborg is putting together and the clear talent he has on the court. What happened after his legendary performance for the Warriors’ first win needs to be recognized as well. 

Standing in the hallway of Ball Arena with Draymond Green behind him, Lendeborg put on a headset to join the NBC Sports Network panel of host Ahmed Fareed and Hall of Fame players Carmelo Anthony, Vince Carter and Tracy McGrady. And he immediately gave another great and refreshingly honest quote. 

“I definitely thought I was going to wet the bed for the first half of the season,” Lendeborg said to an audience of laughter. 

He then emphasized the confidence that veterans like Curry and Draymond Green provide him in the same answer. Lendeborg was honest about his off-ball defense, which coach Steve Kerr recently pointed out, and the 24-year-old assessed his play there as “lackluster.” As the interview carried on, Lendeborg’s smile never faded. He was star-struck, and Fareed could feel it. Instead of peppering him with more questions, Fareed gave the floor to Lendeborg. 

“Man, it’s an honor to talk to all you guys,” Lendeborg said. “Do you guys have any advice just for me in general? Things I got to work on? Anything you guys see that I don’t see?” 

McGrady told Lendeborg to “lean on your vets.” Carter told him to “utilize his youth” and to “play with joy” while constantly asking questions. Anthony went to the classroom and told him to “get ahead of the film game.” A locked-in Lendeborg nodded along and soaked in every word. 

A narrative was created after Lendeborg’s debut that he was arrogant for talking trash with Los Angeles Lakers star Luka Doncic and the words he chose in the media. Lendeborg kept it going after his next game, too. But that’s just him being his authentic self. 

Just like him asking legends of the game for advice after putting together a 31/12/6 stat line in his fourth career game. That’s who the Warriors have seen since they drafted him, and it’s translating to the court. 

Curry told NBCSN’s Robbie Hummel that Lendeborg’s best quality is his composure. When asked about the many questions Lendeborg is bringing to him daily, Curry raved about his rookie to reporters in Denver. 

“The last two, I count BP [Brandin Podziemski] as the other one, them two have been very curious,” Curry said. “Just understanding they need to have an impact for us to win and they’re getting opportunities. It’s a great testament. There’s no such thing as a dumb question when you’re trying to figure it out and you care, you speak up and you’re active in the learning process.” 

If Kerr, Curry, Green or anybody else within the Warriors’ confines has constructive criticism for Lendeborg, he isn’t one to turn a blind eye or let the words fall on deaf ears. His curiosity is an extra skill like his playmaking ability. 

“It’s definitely going to be trial and error for me,” Lendeborg said to reporters. “But I just really appreciate him [Kerr] for continuing to talk to me, have patience with me. He’s not screaming at me, he’s talking to me like a human. It’s awesome just being able to experience that with him. He’s a smart basketball player, smart basketball coach. 

“He’s definitely going to give me all the right tools, and there’s nothing for me to be acting arrogant or a negative way towards. I’m just listening to everything he has to say, and hopefully try to implement the next game, next play, whatever it has to be.”

The pre-draft narrative of Lendeborg the player was wrong in so many ways. The new narrative that was created after one game of who Lendeborg the person is was far from the truth, too. 

The off-court curiosity Lendeborg has is what’s carrying over to so much on-court success this quickly, and it doesn’t seem like either side is going to change soon.

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