Yaxel Lendeborg Hints He Might Start for Warriors Next Season

· Yahoo Sports

Is Yaxel going too far?

The Golden State Warriors needed a forward when they walked into the 2026 NBA Draft, and Yaxel Lendeborg gave them one of the best options in the class.

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The 23-year-old Michigan product led the Wolverines to a national championship, earned Big Ten Player of the Year honors, and was taken 11th overall on Tuesday before showing up to Chase Center on Friday already talking about a spot in the starting lineup.

Lendeborg Gets Honest About Kerr

When reporters asked about his first conversation with head coach Steve Kerr, the rookie did not hold back.

"He doesn't normally play rookies as much. He has a history of that. But the way the team is looking right now, I'm going to have a really good chance to play, maybe even start," Lendeborg told the media, via Warriors insider Anthony Slater.

It is a blunt message, but definitely an accurate one.

Kerr has a well-known track record with first-year players, and recent picks like James Wiseman, Jonathan Kuminga, Moody, and Brandin Podziemski all dealt with limited minutes during their rookie seasons.

Lendeborg is walking into a franchise where earning a spot has never been easy for young players, and with Gui Santos having started 30 games last season, there is a real chance he comes off the bench early on.

The difference is that Lendeborg is not a typical teenage lottery pick.

After five years of college ball across Arizona Western, UAB, and Michigan, he averaged 15.1 points, 6.8 rebounds, and 3.2 assists in his final season while shooting 51.5 percent from the floor and 37.2 percent from three on his way to consensus First-Team All-American honors.

The Door Is Wide Open

The state of the Warriors roster gives Lendeborg a path to starting that most Golden State rookies have never had.

The team went 37-45 last season and got knocked out of the play-in tournament by the Suns, and the forward depth heading into 2026-27 is thin.

Jimmy Butler tore his ACL in January and is not expected back until midseason at the earliest.

Moody ruptured his patellar tendon in March with no firm timeline either.

Then there is the Kristaps Porzingis question.

The 7-foot-2 center averaged 16.1 points and 5.3 rebounds in 15 games after being traded from Atlanta at the deadline, but he is an unrestricted free agent with health issues that limited him to 32 total games this past year.

The Warriors want him back on a cheaper deal, but nothing is locked in.

If Porzingis does not return and Butler is still rehabbing, the forward spot next to Draymond Green opens up almost entirely.

General manager Mike Dunleavy has talked about a "huge gap" at the position, and Lendeborg's two-way ability at 6-foot-9 with a 7-foot-3 wingspan fits exactly what the coaching staff has been looking for.

Kerr may not normally trust rookies with a starting role, but with this many key players unavailable and a franchise trying to squeeze everything out of Stephen Curry's career at 38, Golden State might not have the luxury of easing Lendeborg in.

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