Not long after high school, Yaxel Lendeborg was working in a New Jersey warehouse and had decided college basketball was not for him.[1] Two weeks into his NBA career, the Golden State Warriors rookie sits at the top of at least one Rookie of the Year market.[2]
In between is one of the most unusual routes any lottery pick has taken: three seasons at a junior college in the Arizona desert, two at a mid-major in Birmingham and one national championship run in Ann Arbor.
Eleven games at Pennsauken
Lendeborg was academically ineligible to play basketball at Pennsauken High School in New Jersey until his senior year, and he appeared in just 11 varsity games.[3] By his own account, he did not take school seriously during any of his four years there.[1] With so little film, recruiters had almost nothing to go on. After graduation, he went to work instead.[1]
His mother, Yissel Raposo, had other plans. She found him a spot at a showcase for players of Dominican descent, and a clip of him on social media reached the coaching staff at Arizona Western College, which offered him its last available scholarship.[4] When it was time to leave for Yuma, she drove him to the airport over his objections.[5]
Arizona Western: building the foundation
Lendeborg spent three seasons with the Matadors, from 2020 to 2023, and played 78 games.[4] He left as the NJCAA's all-time leader in total rebounds with 870. In his final season he averaged 17.2 points and a nation-leading 13.0 rebounds, earning his second NJCAA All-American selection.[4]
Head coach Kyle Isaacs has said the physicality and nonstop motor that define Lendeborg's game now were built in that Yuma gym.[6] Years later, Lendeborg became the first player from the school, founded in 1963, to reach a Final Four.[6] He first signed with St. John's in November 2022, but his Division I career ended up starting somewhere else.[4]
UAB: a mid-major star
Lendeborg transferred to UAB in 2023 and quickly became one of the best defenders outside the power conferences. In both of his seasons with the Blazers, he made first-team All-AAC and won AAC Defensive Player of the Year. He was also the MVP of the 2024 AAC tournament.[4] By his second year in Birmingham, NBA teams were calling his old junior college coaches to ask about him.[7]
He could have stayed in the 2025 NBA draft. Instead, he entered the transfer portal as its top-rated player and committed to Michigan for one more college season.[8]
Michigan: one season, one title
In Ann Arbor, coach Dusty May moved Lendeborg from power forward to an oversized small forward. Sporting News' Mike DeCourcy called that change the key to the Wolverines' emergence as a title contender.[9] Lendeborg averaged 15.1 points, 6.8 rebounds, 3.2 assists, 1.2 blocks and 1.1 steals. He swept the Big Ten Player of the Year awards, made the consensus All-America first team and was named Midwest Region MVP in the NCAA tournament.[10]
The season ended with a 69-63 win over UConn in the national championship game, giving Michigan its second title and its first since 1989.[10] Two of his frontcourt teammates, Morez Johnson Jr. and Aday Mara, joined him as first-round picks in June.[11]
The title also completed a promise. After Michigan clinched the Big Ten regular-season crown, Lendeborg told reporters he had three goals for the year: a conference championship, Player of the Year and a national title.[12] He went three for three.
Draft night: the oldest pick in the lottery
Golden State took Lendeborg 11th overall on June 23, 2026. He was at least three years older than any of the 10 players picked before him, and the Warriors had used their previous three lottery picks on teenagers.[13] At 6-foot-9 and 241 pounds with a wingspan over 7-foot-3, he was viewed as ready to contribute on day one.[14] Golden State reportedly had only one prospect clearly ranked above him: Duke's Cameron Boozer, who went third to Memphis.[15] Lendeborg became only the second Arizona Western player ever taken in the first round, joining Rafael Araújo, who went eighth in 2004.[7] In July, he was named MVP of the Summer League championship game.[16]
A start that brings up Wilt and Steph
Steve Kerr put Lendeborg in the opening-night lineup at center.[17] The Warriors dropped their first three games. Then their rookie started stacking milestones, and the team started winning. Here is how the first big week unfolded.
|
Date |
Opponent |
Result |
Lendeborg's line |
Why it mattered |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Oct. 26 |
at Denver |
W, 134-114 |
31 pts, 12 reb, 6 ast |
First Warriors rookie with 30-10-5 since Stephen Curry in 2010 [18] |
|
Oct. 28 |
Minnesota |
W, 119-114 |
26 pts |
Fastest to 100 points, 45 rebounds and 20 assists since 1960 [19] |
|
Nov. 1 |
LA Clippers |
W, 124-112 |
37 pts, 6 ast |
Most points by a Warriors rookie since Curry in 2010 [20] |
|
Nov. 2 |
Phoenix |
W, 116-113 |
16 pts, 5 reb, 5 ast |
Fifth straight win after an 0-3 start [21] |
His 87 points through four games were the most by a Warriors rookie since Wilt Chamberlain in 1959.[18] With two 30-point games among his first seven, he joined Chamberlain and Rick Barry as the only Warriors to do that.[22] He averaged 22.3 points over those seven games.[17] For context, he scored 30 points only once in 112 college games.[20]
He has handled the spotlight with some humor, too. After the 37-point night, he admitted teammates had egged him on to chase 40 late in the game. "I've never been a stat chaser in my life," he said.[20] Asked after the Phoenix win about the team's five-game turnaround, Curry pointed straight at the rookie: "Yax."[23] Before the season even started, Draymond Green had called him the next face of the franchise.[24] Lendeborg's own plan is to keep playing with a smile on his face.[25]
Can he actually win Rookie of the Year?
The betting markets have moved fast. In the preseason, DraftKings listed Lendeborg at +1800, with Boozer the favorite.[26] As of Nov. 3, sportsbooks have Lendeborg second at +210 to +320, just behind Boozer at +200, after opening him at +1000.[27] On Kalshi, a prediction market, he narrowly leads the field.[2] In about two weeks, he has gone from long shot to co-favorite in a draft class full of more heralded names.[17]
|
Rookie |
Team |
Draft pick |
College |
Kalshi chance, Nov. 3 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Yaxel Lendeborg |
Warriors |
No. 11 |
Michigan |
34% |
|
Cameron Boozer |
Grizzlies |
No. 3 |
Duke |
33% |
|
Darius Acuff Jr. |
Kings |
No. 7 |
Arkansas |
19% |
Sources for table: [2], [28], [29]
The case for Lendeborg is simple. He is producing big numbers while starting for a winning team next to Stephen Curry. The case against is just as clear: eight games is a tiny sample. Boozer was the preseason favorite for a reason, and Acuff is averaging 26.1 points and outscored Boozer 38-27 when the Kings visited Memphis on Oct. 31.[27] One rule helps every contender: the 65-game minimum that applies to MVP and most other awards does not apply to Rookie of the Year.[27]
What's next
Golden State hosts Miami on Thursday with a chance to push its winning streak to six.[23] For a player who once had 11 high school games to his name, the question is no longer whether he belongs in the NBA. It is how high this climb can go.
Footnotes
- From warehouse to Final Four, Michigan's Yaxel Lendeborg is living unlikely dream (AOL)
- NBA Rookie of the Year Odds 2026-27: Live Market Prices (Kalshi, accessed Nov. 3, 2026)
- Philadelphia Inquirer profile of Pennsauken's Yaxel Lendeborg (Philadelphia Inquirer, March 27, 2026)
- Yaxel Lendeborg (Wikipedia, accessed Nov. 3, 2026)
- ESPN Deportes profile of Yaxel Lendeborg and his mother, Yissel Raposo (ESPN Deportes)
- Yaxel Lendeborg's journey from Arizona Western to the National Championship (KYMA)
- Lendeborg selected 11th overall by Golden State Warriors (Arizona Western Athletics, June 24, 2026)
- Yaxel Lendeborg, No. 1 transfer portal target, commits to Michigan Wolverines (On3)
- Michigan Forward Yaxel Lendeborg Earns Elite Honor From Sporting News (Sports Illustrated, March 2026)
- Lendeborg Earns Wooden All-America Honors (Michigan Athletics, April 8, 2026)
- Golden State Warriors select Yaxel Lendeborg with the 11th pick in the 2026 NBA Draft (ABC7 San Francisco, June 24, 2026)
- Michigan basketball's Yaxel Lendeborg reflects on journey after winning Big Ten Player of the Year (WDIV ClickOnDetroit, March 11, 2026)
- Why Yaxel Lendeborg was profoundly logical pick for Warriors in 2026 NBA Draft (NBC Bay Area, June 2026)
- Grading Warriors' Yaxel Lendeborg selection with No. 11 pick (NBC Sports Bay Area, June 2026)
- Warriors reportedly had one NBA draft prospect ranked above Yaxel Lendeborg (NBC Bay Area, June 2026)
- Michigan basketball stars shine in NBA summer league as Lendeborg wins another championship, MVP award (WDIV ClickOnDetroit, July 21, 2026)
- Warriors Notes: Lendeborg, Curry, Green, Santos (Hoops Rumors, Nov. 2, 2026)
- Yaxel Lendeborg has 31 points, 12 rebounds as Warriors blow out Nuggets on road (ESPN via ABC7 San Francisco, Oct. 27, 2026)
- Warriors news: Yaxel Lendeborg pulls historic feat not done since 1960 (ClutchPoints, October 2026)
- Warriors' Lendeborg dazzles with 37, regrets 'falling into peer pressure' to chase 40 (ESPN, Nov. 2, 2026)
- Stephen Curry scores 34 as Warriors edge Suns for fifth straight win (AP via CBS Sports, Nov. 2, 2026)
- Rookie Lendeborg scores career-high 37 points, Warriors top Clippers 124-112 without Curry, Green (AP via ABC7 San Francisco, Nov. 2, 2026)
- Warriors' Stephen Curry Drops Bold Statement on Yaxel Lendeborg (Heavy, Nov. 3, 2026)
- This is the worst Yaxel Lendeborg will ever be — and he's already dominating (San Francisco Standard, Oct. 27, 2026)
- Lendeborg fuels Curry-less Warriors (AFP via Daily Tribune, Nov. 2, 2026)
- 2026-27 NBA Rookie of the Year Odds: Cameron Boozer Leads Way (Sports Illustrated, October 2026)
- NBA Rookie of the Year Odds 2026-27: Boozer, Lendeborg and the Rookie Race (Squawka, Nov. 3, 2026)
- Cameron Boozer (Wikipedia, accessed Nov. 3, 2026)
- Kings select guard Darius Acuff Jr. with No. 7 overall pick in 2026 NBA Draft (NBC Sports Bay Area, June 23, 2026)