--- title: "Yaxel Lendeborg scored 31 in the Warriors' first win and has not stopped talking" description: "The Warriors' rookie forward has the minutes, the rebounds and the mouth, and Golden State is letting him keep all three." url: https://sports.skoop.news/warriors-lendeborg-entertaining-on-the-court-at-mics-on-your--10-30/ published: 2026-10-31T04:06:50.255735-04:00 modified: 2026-10-31T04:06:50.255755-04:00 section: "Sports" publisher: "skoop.news" language: en keywords: ["yaxel lendeborg", "Draymond Green", "Mike Boynton Jr", "Ann Arbor", "Jimmy Butler", "Los Angeles", "TikTok Live", "Warriors", "Michigan", "Kerr"] hashtags: ["#DraymondGreen", "#MikeBoyntonJr", "#AnnArbor", "#Nba", "#sports"] image: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/52/Timberwolves_game.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled --- # 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. Published 2026-10-31 · Updated 2026-10-31 · Sports, [skoop.news](https://skoop.news/) ## In brief - Rookie forward Yaxel Lendeborg scored 31 points in the Warriors' first win of the season, on a Monday in Denver. [[1]](https://www.sfchronicle.com/sports/warriors/article/yaxel-lendeborg-warriors-nba-22501076.php) - On Wednesday in Minnesota, Lendeborg pointed at himself for seven turnovers while saying an aggressive Timberwolves team was not playing real defense. [[1]](https://www.sfchronicle.com/sports/warriors/article/yaxel-lendeborg-warriors-nba-22501076.php) - Lendeborg averaged 22.6 points per game in his first five NBA games. [[2]](https://sfstandard.com/2026/10/29/yaxel-lendeborg-warriors-rookie-golden-state-future/) ## 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]](https://www.sfchronicle.com/sports/warriors/article/yaxel-lendeborg-warriors-nba-22501076.php) For a Warriors team that began 0-3, he helped lift it to back-to-back road wins over Denver and Minnesota. [[2]](https://sfstandard.com/2026/10/29/yaxel-lendeborg-warriors-rookie-golden-state-future/) After the 31-point game, Lendeborg said he would have cried if the Warriors had lost again. [[1]](https://www.sfchronicle.com/sports/warriors/article/yaxel-lendeborg-warriors-nba-22501076.php) ## 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]](https://www.sfchronicle.com/sports/warriors/article/yaxel-lendeborg-warriors-nba-22501076.php) The Warriors beat the Timberwolves 119-114 that night. [[1]](https://www.sfchronicle.com/sports/warriors/article/yaxel-lendeborg-warriors-nba-22501076.php) Lendeborg is aware of his own faults, and that awareness is endearing him to the rest of the Warriors' locker room. [[1]](https://www.sfchronicle.com/sports/warriors/article/yaxel-lendeborg-warriors-nba-22501076.php) Lane described him as an 18-year-old kid in a 24-year-old's body. [[1]](https://www.sfchronicle.com/sports/warriors/article/yaxel-lendeborg-warriors-nba-22501076.php) ## The numbers behind the minutes Lendeborg averaged 22.6 points per game in his first five NBA games. [[2]](https://sfstandard.com/2026/10/29/yaxel-lendeborg-warriors-rookie-golden-state-future/) Kerr said he had 26 points and nine rebounds in his fifth NBA game. [[2]](https://sfstandard.com/2026/10/29/yaxel-lendeborg-warriors-rookie-golden-state-future/) He leads the Warriors in minutes, made shots and attempted shots. [[2]](https://sfstandard.com/2026/10/29/yaxel-lendeborg-warriors-rookie-golden-state-future/) His 46 rebounds are more than twice as many as the next Warrior, Draymond Green, who has 22. [[2]](https://sfstandard.com/2026/10/29/yaxel-lendeborg-warriors-rookie-golden-state-future/) Kerr has kept playing Lendeborg more than any other player, at 33.6 minutes per game, even with his turnovers. [[2]](https://sfstandard.com/2026/10/29/yaxel-lendeborg-warriors-rookie-golden-state-future/) His production has been compared to Jimmy Butler's with the Warriors before Butler tore his ACL last January. [[2]](https://sfstandard.com/2026/10/29/yaxel-lendeborg-warriors-rookie-golden-state-future/) ## The Dončić comments Lendeborg declared he had lost all respect for Luka Dončić after the Warriors' season opener in Los Angeles. [[1]](https://www.sfchronicle.com/sports/warriors/article/yaxel-lendeborg-warriors-nba-22501076.php) 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]](https://www.sfchronicle.com/sports/warriors/article/yaxel-lendeborg-warriors-nba-22501076.php) Draymond Green said he will always be in support of Lendeborg speaking up. [[1]](https://www.sfchronicle.com/sports/warriors/article/yaxel-lendeborg-warriors-nba-22501076.php) When asked whether he needs media training, Lendeborg rejected the idea. [[1]](https://www.sfchronicle.com/sports/warriors/article/yaxel-lendeborg-warriors-nba-22501076.php) The Warriors have fully committed, both on court and internally, to let Lendeborg be himself while steering him gently in the right direction. [[1]](https://www.sfchronicle.com/sports/warriors/article/yaxel-lendeborg-warriors-nba-22501076.php) ## 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]](https://www.sfchronicle.com/sports/warriors/article/yaxel-lendeborg-warriors-nba-22501076.php) In February, he declared that Michigan would spank Purdue, which stirred up controversy. [[1]](https://www.sfchronicle.com/sports/warriors/article/yaxel-lendeborg-warriors-nba-22501076.php) Michigan beat Purdue 91-80 on the road, two days after Michigan's assistant head coach Mike Boynton Jr. had spoken with Lendeborg. [[1]](https://www.sfchronicle.com/sports/warriors/article/yaxel-lendeborg-warriors-nba-22501076.php) 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]](https://www.sfchronicle.com/sports/warriors/article/yaxel-lendeborg-warriors-nba-22501076.php) Lendeborg's last TikTok Live was a day or two after the Michigan parade, after he had vowed to stop going live. [[1]](https://www.sfchronicle.com/sports/warriors/article/yaxel-lendeborg-warriors-nba-22501076.php) His team plans to set up a personal YouTube channel, where content will be recorded and edited rather than live. [[1]](https://www.sfchronicle.com/sports/warriors/article/yaxel-lendeborg-warriors-nba-22501076.php) ## How the Warriors landed him The Warriors used the No. 11 pick in the NBA draft to select Lendeborg out of Michigan. [[2]](https://sfstandard.com/2026/10/29/yaxel-lendeborg-warriors-rookie-golden-state-future/) Kawakami wrote that if Dunleavy had traded this year's first-round pick, the Warriors would not have Lendeborg now. [[2]](https://sfstandard.com/2026/10/29/yaxel-lendeborg-warriors-rookie-golden-state-future/) Kawakami also wrote that the Warriors are not a great team and may not even avoid the play-in. [[2]](https://sfstandard.com/2026/10/29/yaxel-lendeborg-warriors-rookie-golden-state-future/) ## 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]](https://sfstandard.com/2026/10/29/yaxel-lendeborg-warriors-rookie-golden-state-future/) He also leads the team in made and attempted shots, and his 46 rebounds are more than twice Green's 22. [[2]](https://sfstandard.com/2026/10/29/yaxel-lendeborg-warriors-rookie-golden-state-future/) Watch the turnovers, because he had seven in Minnesota. [[1]](https://www.sfchronicle.com/sports/warriors/article/yaxel-lendeborg-warriors-nba-22501076.php) Also watch the talk, because Kerr likes the bravado but wants it backed up. [[1]](https://www.sfchronicle.com/sports/warriors/article/yaxel-lendeborg-warriors-nba-22501076.php) If you followed Lendeborg online, his team plans a personal YouTube channel with recorded and edited content rather than live streams. [[1]](https://www.sfchronicle.com/sports/warriors/article/yaxel-lendeborg-warriors-nba-22501076.php) ## Sources 1. [Warriors’ Lendeborg entertaining on the court, at mics, on your phone](https://www.sfchronicle.com/sports/warriors/article/yaxel-lendeborg-warriors-nba-22501076.php) — sfchronicle.com 2. [Kawakami: The Warriors’ major ripple effects from the Yaxel Lendeborg blast-off](https://sfstandard.com/2026/10/29/yaxel-lendeborg-warriors-rookie-golden-state-future/) — sfstandard.com Image: Photo: Amy Mingo from Minnetonka, MN, USA / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0 (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Timberwolves_game.jpg) --- Written from the sources above and checked twice (rules and an independent model) before publishing. 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