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The high school class of 2020 produced one of the most hyped collections of top-ranked prospects in recent memory. Jalen Green, Terrence Clarke, and Josh Christopher were household names from early in their teenage years for mixtape compilations that drew comparisons to Kobe Bryant and other star scorers. Jalen Suggs was a two-sport stud who bypassed an Ohio State football scholarship because he was better at basketball. Scottie Barnes and Evan Mobley were portable, long-limbed defensive prodigies, and Cade Cunningham shot up to the top of the class after a stirring EYBL run that had him looking like American Luka Doncic.
Yaxel Lendeborg was also in the class of 2020, but while his peers were gracing the cover of SLAM and winning international gold medals, he had yet to play organized basketball. Lendeborg’s grades weren’t good enough to get on the court back in his hometown of Pennsauken, New Jersey, and he was more interested in playing video games than applying himself to anything that would better his future. It’s possible his enormous talent would have slipped through the cracks entirely if not for a junior college on the other side of the country taking a chance on him with its last scholarship in a Covid-shortened season following an impressive weekend at an exposure camp for Dominican players.
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Nearly six years later, Lendeborg already looks like something close to an NBA star as a 24-year-old rookie with the Golden State Warriors. His winding journey from Arizona Western College to UAB to Michigan to now playing alongside Stephen Curry has no real analog, but it still offers some valuable insight into how prospect evaluation is changing in a rapidly evolving landscape for young players. Lendeborg is an exception to just about every rule in the sport, but his ascent is no accident, and it could inform similar success stories in the coming years for teams looking hard enough.
What Lendeborg is doing to open this season is nothing short of amazing. He’s averaging 22.3 points, 7.3 rebounds, and 3.7 assists on pristine 64.5% true shooting through his first seven games. His 37-point explosion…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/nba-scouts-missed-yaxel-lendeborg-130000205.html
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Publish date : 2026-11-03 13:00:00
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