The Golden State Warriors had some choices when it came to the 2026 NBA draft, but in the end, they took the guy who was probably the safest bet, the one whose versatility could most impact multiple areas of the team on both ends of the floor: Michigan star Yaxel Lendeborg. For a team that will be coping with injuries to Jimmy Butler and Moses Moody (assuming both are on the roster) to start next season, having some versatility on the roster was appealing.
And, in meeting with the media in his introductory press conference in San Francisco on Friday, Lendeborg dropped a bit of good news for Warriors fans: he’s healthy and plans to play for the Warriors in their upcoming summer league commitments, at the California Classic starting next week and at the Las Vegas summer league the following week.
From Anthony Slater of ESPN: “Warriors rookie Yaxel Lendeborg said he does plan to play in summer league. He suffered an ankle sprain and left knee bone bruise (compared it to MCL sprain) in Michigan’s title run, said it took four weeks to heal, but he’s fully healthy now.”
Yaxel Lendeborg’s Locker Next to Stephen Curry
During his time at Michigan and throughout their remarkable run to an NCAA championship this year, Lendeborg was known as one of the more talkative players with a big personality. He showed that at his introduction, and the Warriors probably sent him a message on keeping things calm and professional by where they put his locker.
As Lendeborg noted: “Ironically, they put my locker right next to Steph’s, so I know we got a lot of work to do to become best friends and all, but I’m definitely excited. I’m gonna be able to learn as much as I can from him. Hopefully some of his shooting can rub off on me and we can go a long way.”
Warriors Eager to See the Rookie’s Fit
Lendeborg comes in having been an iron man during the season, playing through injuries (a trait the Warriors value these days) in 40 games for the Wolverines, averaging 30.3 minutes per game. He averaged 15.1 points, 6.8 rebounding and 3.2 assists, and shot 37.2% from the 3-point line.
He was asked how he can fit in to the way the Warriors want to play, and said he had conversations with teams before the draft about that.
Lendeborg highlighted his ability to contribute multiple ways, saying: “We spoke about how I can envision myself playing on the court this year. And it was all good things, things that I enjoy doing, all things that I feel like are the right thing, the simple thing to do on a basketball court. So, I feel like I fit the scheme perfectly so I was very excited to be here working out with these guys. I was able to showcase that I would be able to stretch the floor out, be able to help be a secondary ballhandler or whatever is needed.
“I feel like it went a long way just to show the character of these guys and the kind of players they’re looking for. Not just basketball-wise, but player and person-wise.”
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