The Warriors’ rookie has not had much time to settle into NBA life. Yaxel Lendeborg joined the Warriors after a national championship run at Michigan. But the injuries and uncertain front court have already shaped the team’s early-season plans. Stephen Curry has made clear that the rookie will be asked to contribute quickly.
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The question is how much responsibility Lendeborg can handle while still learning the league.
“He’s been great,” Stephen Curry praised Lendeborg’s approach and the experience he brings from Michigan’s championship run, speaking on NBA Radio.
“I mean, it’s still preseason, and the idea of a guy who’s come in with the right mentality. He’s very mature for a rookie coming in. He’s played high-stakes basketball all last year at Michigan, played on a national championship-winning team. So he understands the gravity of winning basketball.”
Michigan went 37-3 and won the 2026 national championship, with Lendeborg earning consensus All-American honors and Big Ten Player of the Year. In the blink of an eye, he was already starting for a once-dynasty team. And the 6-foot-9 forward has already begun to get comfortable in the mix. He has averaged 15.3 ppg. 8.3 rpg and 3.8 assists in 4 preseason games so far.
It includes a dominant 23-point outing against the Kings.
“I think he’s come in with the right mindset of he knows he’s gonna be asked of a lot, whether that’s fair or unfair of a rookie, it’s the situation. We need him. We need him to have that quick learning curve, be able to play both ends of the floor every night, and I think he’s showing that promise early in the preseason.” Stephen Curry added.
That demand is easier to understand with Kristaps Porzingis out indefinitely due to a health issue. Jimmy Butler is recovering from a torn ACL. Meanwhile, Moses Moody is rehabbing a ruptured patellar tendon. Fans can expect all three of them to miss the opening stretch of the season.
Especially with Porzingis, who recently addressed the fans with a promising tweet. Yet the return timeline remains uncertain.
Despite that, Stephen Curry doesn’t seem disheartened. Thanks to Lendeborg:
“I think the game is pretty clear to him right now, how he can impact this team, and we’re excited just to have a guy that knows how to play the right way, and we want to be able to get him going in the right direction.”
The Dubs have fewer options on the wing and around the basket, leaving coach Steve Kerr to consider a smaller lineup with Green at center and Lendeborg alongside him.
The rookie has already had to learn on the fly.
Before the recent preseason game against the Lakers, assistant coach Frank Vogel told Lendeborg he would be responsible for guarding Luka Doncic. While Luka sat out that game, the rookie’s confession revealed that the Dubs have already begun their experimentation.
In Luka absence, Lendeborg instead found himself defending Walker Kessler while spending time at center.
There has been a lighter moment between the rookie and the franchise star, too.
Lendeborg admitted after the draft that he used to dislike Stephen Curry because he supported the Cavs. Curry responded on IG that he would work hard to become Lendeborg’s new favorite player.
And the duo seemed to have cracked a good relationship.
Lendeborg shot the team’s first-ever bucket in the preseason. Guess who dished it to him? Stephen Curry himself.
Lendeborg’s preseason scoring has helped his case. But the test will be whether he can defend, rebound, and make sound decisions when opposing teams target him. The Warriors cannot expect him to replace the production of absent veterans on his own.
However, it can give him a meaningful role while asking him to learn quickly.