Yaxel Lendeborg scored a career-high 37 points in the Golden State Warriors’ 124-112 win over the LA Clippers on Sunday night, the most by a Warriors rookie since Stephen Curry in 2010. Lendeborg reached 30 points only once in his 112 college games, but he has now topped 30 twice in the first two weeks of his professional career.
Lendeborg made 13 of 19 shots, including six 3-pointers. The Warriors rested Curry and Draymond Green on the front end of a back-to-back, saving them for Monday night against the Phoenix Suns and clearing the way for Lendeborg to take on a bigger role.
“Whenever Steph’s not in the game, it’s my opportunity to try to be the leader, be the main guy on the team,” Lendeborg said.
From junior college to the NBA
Lendeborg spent three years in junior college before averaging 13.8 and 17.7 points over two seasons at UAB. He then averaged 15.1 points during last season’s national championship run at Michigan. He entered the draft with a reputation as a skilled, do-everything wing who best fit as an ancillary part of an offense.
The Warriors, however, have needed a second scoring option next to Curry since Jimmy Butler tore an ACL last January. Lendeborg has stunned many, including himself, with how quickly he has stepped into that role.
“We knew he was a good shooter,” coach Steve Kerr said. “When he came into work out for us [in June], you could see the skill. But I didn’t expect what I saw tonight.”
Developing a 3-point game
Lendeborg rarely attempted 3-pointers for most of his college career, averaging only one attempt per game at UAB. After he arrived at Michigan, he said then-assistant coach Mike Boynton convinced him to increase his volume because head coach Dusty May planned to use him at small forward. Lendeborg said he once needed 40 minutes to make five 3-pointers in a row. Months later, he could make 20 in a row. In his one season at Michigan, he made 37% of his 4.5 attempts per game.
“My first time actually making [an off-the-dribble 3] was against Maryland,” Lendeborg said. “We were down and I just tried it because I’d made a couple of 3s. I’m already taller, so it gives me an advantage. I don’t really get much reps of it.”
In his seventh NBA game on Sunday, the 6-foot-10 forward looked comfortable pulling up from anywhere on the perimeter. Four of his six made 3-pointers came off the dribble, including a third-quarter flurry that had Curry celebrating from the bench.
“He’s playing this way and he really doesn’t know the NBA game yet,” Kerr said. “The game is still really fast for him, but he’s so skilled and so talented that he’s making all kinds of plays. He’s going to get a lot better.”
Scoring surge and early Rookie of the Year buzz
Lendeborg already has scoring nights of 26, 26, 31 and 37 points. He is averaging 22.7 points, 7.3 rebounds and 3.7 assists, which has generated early buzz for Rookie of the Year.
“One thing I’m proud of myself is my 3-point shot diet,” Lendeborg said. “Last year, if I would’ve missed like three 3s, I’m never shooting another one in the game. In Denver, I started off 0-for-5 and I kept shooting.”
A lesson in stat-chasing
Lendeborg has been open about what he has learned in his first two NBA weeks. On Sunday, he tested the risk of stat-padding and nearly paid for it. While the Warriors were shooting free throws late in what appeared to be a blowout, teammates De’Anthony Melton and Will Richard told him he was three points away from 40 and needed to chase it down.
Lendeborg spent the next few possessions hunting difficult 3-pointers. He missed all three, which opened the door for the Clippers, who briefly cut the lead to eight. Kerr called timeout and pulled Lendeborg.
“The NBA game these days can change like that,” Kerr said, snapping his fingers. “Almost every night, there’s a 25-point lead overcome.”
Lendeborg vowed to avoid that temptation going forward.
“I’ve never been a stat chaser in my life,” Lendeborg said. “Falling into peer pressure like I did just now was bad on my part. I’m a guy that loves ethical hoops. I kind of didn’t do that for the last two or three minutes.”
Warriors snap skid
With Lendeborg back on the bench, the Warriors avoided disaster and closed out the Clippers for their fourth consecutive win after an 0-3 start. The turnaround has pushed expectations for the season upward, largely because of what observers see as Lendeborg’s rising upside.
“It’s remarkable the impact he’s making on these games in the first couple weeks of the season,” Kerr said. “It changes everything. On a night like tonight without Steph, we score 124 points and Yax is the main reason we are high powered.”