Warriors rookie Yaxel Lendeborg is already joining the statistical society of the greatest of all time.
In just his fourth career NBA game, Lendeborg produced his first 30-point game Monday night, dropping 31 against the Denver Nuggets on the road to give the Warriors their first win of the 2026-27 NBA season. His 31 points were the most by a Warriors rookie since Eric Paschall scored 34 against the Portland Trail Blazers on November 4, 2019. Nothing against Paschall, but let’s get back to talking about Hall of Famers.
Lendeborg also grabbed 12 rebounds and dished out six assists in Denver. He is only the third Warriors rookie to total at least 31 points, 12 rebounds and six assists in a single game. The other two? Rick Barry and Wilt Chamberlain.
The Warriors made 21 free throws and Lendeborg made 13, making 12. The last Warriors rookie to make 12 free throws in a game was Steph Curry against the Blazers on April 14, 2010. It was Curry’s 80th game as a professional, which was also the final game of the regular season. Lendeborg has just achieved the feat by playing his fourth game in the NBA.
His 87 points in four games are the second-most ever by a Warriors rookie during that span, behind Chamberlain, who dropped a ridiculous 150. The addition of 12 rebounds made Lendeborg the first Warriors rookie to have multiple double-doubles in their first four games since Barry in 1965, and the seventh in franchise history.
Four of the previous six have been inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame. So yeah, Lendeborg is in pretty good company.
Many articles have rightly been written about the incredible stats Lendeborg puts together and the obvious talent he has on the pitch. What happened after his legendary performance in the Warriors’ first victory also needs to be recognized.
Standing in the hallway at Ball Arena with Draymond Green behind him, Lendeborg put on a headset to join the NBC Sports Network panel featuring host Ahmed Fareed and Hall of Fame players Carmelo Anthony, Vince Carter and Tracy McGrady. And he immediately gave another great and refreshingly honest quote.
“I really thought I was going to wet the bed for the first half of the season,” Lendeborg said to a laughing audience.
He then highlighted the confidence veterans like Curry and Draymond Green bring to him in the same response. Lendeborg has been honest about his off-ball defense, something coach Steve Kerr recently highlighted, and the 24-year-old called his game “lackluster.” Throughout the interview, Lendeborg’s smile never faded. He was starstruck and Fareed could feel it. Instead of peppering him with more questions, Fareed gave Lendeborg the floor.
“Man, it’s an honor to talk to all of you,” Lendeborg said. “Do you have any advice for me in general? Things I need to work on? Anything you see that I don’t?”
McGrady told Lendeborg to “lean on your vets.” Carter told him to “take advantage of his youth” and “play with joy” while constantly asking questions. Anthony went to class and told her to “get ahead of the acting game.” A closeted Lendeborg nodded and soaked in every word.
A narrative was created after Lendeborg’s debut that he was arrogant for trash-talking Los Angeles Lakers star Luka Doncic and the words he chose in the media. Lendeborg also continued after his next match. But it’s just him being his authentic self.
Just like him asking the legends of the game for advice after putting up a 12/31/6 stat line in his fourth career game. That’s what the Warriors have seen since they signed him, and it’s translating on the court.
Curry told NBCSN’s Robbie Hummel that Lendeborg’s best quality is his composure. Asked about the many questions Lendeborg asks him daily, Curry was full of praise for his rookie to Denver reporters.
“The last two, I count BP (Brandin Podziemski) as the other one, they were both very curious,” Curry said. “Just understanding that they have to make an impact for us to win and for them to have opportunities. It’s a great testimony. There’s no stupid question when you’re trying to understand and you care and you talk and you’re active in the learning process.”
If Kerr, Curry, Green or anyone else in the Warriors confines has constructive criticism of Lendeborg, he’s not the type to turn a blind eye or let the words fall on deaf ears. His curiosity is an added skill, as is his ability to play.
“It will definitely be a series of trials and errors for me,” Lendeborg told reporters. “But I really appreciate him (Kerr) continuing to talk to me, being patient with me. He doesn’t yell at me, he talks to me like a human. It’s great to be able to experience that with him. He’s a smart basketball player, a smart basketball coach.
“He’s definitely going to give me all the right tools, and I have no reason to act arrogant or negative. I just listen to everything he has to say and hopefully try to implement the next play, the next play, whatever it is.”
In Lendeborg’s preliminary account, the player was wrong in many ways. The new narrative created after a game about who Lendeborg was was also far from the truth.
Lendeborg’s off-field curiosity is what translates so quickly to so much on-field success, and it doesn’t look like either team is going to change anytime soon.
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