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“Just wait until he starts manipulating the rules” – Steve Kerr teases Yaxel Lendeborg's scary potential
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- “Just wait until he starts manipulating the rules” – Steve Kerr teases Yaxel Lendeborg's scary potential
The last few seasons have been bleak and dreary for the Golden State Warriors. Although Jimmy Butler's arrival in 2025 gave the team a glimmer of hope that the Stephen Curry era in the Bay Area could get going again, his ACL tear in January 2026 dimmed expectations.
However, hope is back for the Warriors, thanks to the arrival of sensational rookie Yaxel Lendeborg . Picked 11th in this year's draft, the 6'9″ power forward from Michigan has given the team an injection of youth and bravado.
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Averaging 21.5 points, 7.0 rebounds, and 3.9 assists per game, Lendeborg has given the Warriors a solid secondary scoring option, a relentless rebounder, and a big body willing to mix it up with anyone in the NBA. But as Warriors coach Steve Kerr noted, Lendeborg's best is yet to come.
Much more to learn
After Lendeborg exploded for 37 points in the win over the Los Angeles Clippers, Kerr said it's remarkable what the rookie has done despite not yet having a solid grasp of the NBA game. He recently doubled down on that comment, saying Lendeborg is still building his NBA database with each passing game.
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"I think what's exciting is that he really has so much more to learn. He really doesn't have a, you know, a huge sense of what he's doing yet, and he's still, like, dominating games and leading us to wins," Kerr explained. "And, uh, we're going to him to control the action. And so it's really exciting to think about where he's going to be a few months from now when he gets used to the NBA."
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Figuring out NBA defenses
Unlike collegiate basketball, where many actions are rigid, almost every play in the NBA is off reads; Kerr said Lendeborg is still feeling his way around the league, trying to see what defenses do and react immediately.
"Everything you see defensively in the NBA is pretty different from college ball," Kerr shared. "But you see the same things over and over again, so you get used to the patterns and you start to recognize them before they happen. So, as that all starts to become clear for Yaxel, he's going to get better and better at that end."
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Learning how to draw fouls
Eight games into his NBA career, Lendeborg is averaging 6.5 free throws per night, which is remarkable for a rookie. Kerr said he sees that number creeping up in the months to come once Lendeborg learns how to manipulate the defense and draw fouls a la his veteran teammate, Jimmy Butler.
"Yaxel can absolutely be that guy. And Tom, just wait till he learns all the NBA tricks. Yeah, just wait," Kerr beamed with pride. "Just wait till he learns how to manipulate all the rules to his favor and grift his way to the line."
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"He's going to be amazing."
A few months ago, fans and experts were predicting nothing but gloom and doom for the Warriors, especially after they missed out on every big-name free agent. But as it turns out, they didn't need any of them. All they needed was a rookie forward named Yaxel Lendeborg.
This story was originally published by Basketball Network on Nov 6, 2026, where it first appeared in the Off The Court section. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
