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Yaxel Lendeborg scored 31 in the Warriors' first win and has not stopped talking
The Warriors' rookie forward has the minutes, the rebounds and the mouth, and Golden State is letting him keep all three.
The 31-point night in Denver
Rookie forward Yaxel Lendeborg scored 31 points in the Warriors' first win of the season, on a Monday in Denver. [1] For a Warriors team that began 0-3, he helped lift it to back-to-back road wins over Denver and Minnesota. [2]
After the 31-point game, Lendeborg said he would have cried if the Warriors had lost again. [1]
Minnesota and seven turnovers
On Wednesday in Minnesota, Lendeborg pointed at himself for seven turnovers while saying an aggressive Timberwolves team was not playing real defense. [1] The Warriors beat the Timberwolves 119-114 that night. [1]
Lendeborg is aware of his own faults, and that awareness is endearing him to the rest of the Warriors' locker room. [1] Lane described him as an 18-year-old kid in a 24-year-old's body. [1]
The numbers behind the minutes
Lendeborg averaged 22.6 points per game in his first five NBA games. [2] Kerr said he had 26 points and nine rebounds in his fifth NBA game. [2]
He leads the Warriors in minutes, made shots and attempted shots. [2] His 46 rebounds are more than twice as many as the next Warrior, Draymond Green, who has 22. [2]
Kerr has kept playing Lendeborg more than any other player, at 33.6 minutes per game, even with his turnovers. [2] His production has been compared to Jimmy Butler's with the Warriors before Butler tore his ACL last January. [2]
The Dončić comments
Lendeborg declared he had lost all respect for Luka Dončić after the Warriors' season opener in Los Angeles. [1] Kerr told him in front of the team that he loved the bravado but had to back it up, adding not to foul Dončić next time. [1]
Draymond Green said he will always be in support of Lendeborg speaking up. [1] When asked whether he needs media training, Lendeborg rejected the idea. [1]
The Warriors have fully committed, both on court and internally, to let Lendeborg be himself while steering him gently in the right direction. [1]
From streams to Michigan to the draft
Before joining the Warriors, Lendeborg was relatively unknown until last year, when he became one of the best players in the world across a year of TikTok Lives and Twitch streams. [1] In February, he declared that Michigan would spank Purdue, which stirred up controversy. [1]
Michigan beat Purdue 91-80 on the road, two days after Michigan's assistant head coach Mike Boynton Jr. had spoken with Lendeborg. [1] Michigan then won the national title with a 69-63 win over UConn, and the team held a parade in Ann Arbor five days later. [1]
Lendeborg's last TikTok Live was a day or two after the Michigan parade, after he had vowed to stop going live. [1] His team plans to set up a personal YouTube channel, where content will be recorded and edited rather than live. [1]
How the Warriors landed him
The Warriors used the No. 11 pick in the NBA draft to select Lendeborg out of Michigan. [2] Kawakami wrote that if Dunleavy had traded this year's first-round pick, the Warriors would not have Lendeborg now. [2]
Kawakami also wrote that the Warriors are not a great team and may not even avoid the play-in. [2]
What it means for you
If you follow the Warriors, expect to see Lendeborg on the floor a lot, since he leads the team in minutes at 33.6 per game. [2] He also leads the team in made and attempted shots, and his 46 rebounds are more than twice Green's 22. [2]
Watch the turnovers, because he had seven in Minnesota. [1] Also watch the talk, because Kerr likes the bravado but wants it backed up. [1]
If you followed Lendeborg online, his team plans a personal YouTube channel with recorded and edited content rather than live streams. [1]
Sources
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