Yaxel Lendeborg is delivering hope even as the Warriors stumble

Being a young-player fan in the Bay has been a creative writing exercise for a while now. How many times has Dub Nation squinted at a flash in the third quarter of a blowout and built a whole career out of it? I’m thinking of Anthony Randolph truthers. We argue about the thin line between bad player fits and organizational rigidity . I’ve written plenty of those columns myself. The future was always the thing we got to talk about while the present belonged to Steph.

That’s why the first week of this season has felt strange. Generally most (good) teams let their rookies learn on company time, getting their feet wet without absorbing massive responsibility. The Warriors’ rookie Yaxel Lendeborg is already punching time on the clock with the season on the line.

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Through three games, Big Yax is averaging 18.7 points, 8.3 rebounds and 4.3 assists in about 34 minutes a night, and he’s hitting 44.4% from three. He opened with a steady 12 in Los Angeles. Against Memphis, he put up 18 points, 13 rebounds, six assists and three steals. Then in Phoenix, he hit six threes on his way to 26.

Now, let’s just take a step back and activate gold blooded homerism. Hey Stathead, how many players in Warriors history have averaged 18 points, 8 rebounds, and 4 assists for a season?

Wilt Chamberlain (1963–64, age 27): 36.9 points, 22.3 rebounds, 5.0 assists

Kevin Durant (2016–17, age 28): 25.1 points, 8.3 rebounds, 4.8 assists

Rick Barry (1972–73, age 28): 22.3 points, 8.9 rebounds, 4.9 assists

Nate Thurmond (1967–68, age 26): 20.5 points, 22.0 rebounds, 4.2 assists

That’s four Hall of Famers, with none none of them rookies. Three games doesn’t put Yaxel in that room, buuuut it’s a funny room to have him standing outside of, don’t cha think?

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And for the blistering fireball of skepticism I’m sure awaits for me for daring to dream, let’s clarify that none of this is garbage-time production. Coach Steve Kerr is giving him starter minutes in close games because the team needs what he does right now. With Yaxel, I keep catching myself skipping the projection step entirely, because he’s already answering the…

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Publish date : 2026-10-25 19:13:00

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