{"id":2007507,"date":"2026-06-24T01:19:18","date_gmt":"2026-06-23T22:19:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2007507"},"modified":"2026-06-24T01:19:18","modified_gmt":"2026-06-23T22:19:18","slug":"golden-state-warriors-select-yaxel-lendeborg-with-the-no-11-pick-in-the-2026-nba-draft","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2007507","title":{"rendered":"Golden State Warriors select Yaxel Lendeborg with the No. 11 pick in the 2026 NBA draft"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"Article_ContentContainer__jBNW3 article-content-container bodytext1\">\n<p><em>The Athletic has\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/live-blogs\/nba-draft-2026-live-updates-round-1-tracker-results-giannis-antetokounmpo\/NJNyRbgefCcT\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">live coverage<\/a> of the 2026 NBA Draft.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>The Golden State Warriors selected Yaxel Lendeborg with the No. 11 pick on Tuesday in the NBA Draft. Lendeborg averaged 15.1 points, 6.8 rebounds and 3.2 assists for the national champion Michigan Wolverines.<\/p>\n<p>He\u2019s a good athlete, as he\u2019s fluid and plays with power. Lendeborg carries his 235-pound frame well while also being able to move laterally, and he has some lift vertically off one and two feet, though he\u2019s not overly twitchy. More of a power athlete than a quick one. Very much looks the part of an NBA player.<\/p>\n<div class=\"ad-container\">\n<div class=\"ad-wrapper article-treatment\">\n<div class=\"ad-slug-container\">\n<p class=\"ad-slug\">Advertisement<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"mid1\" data-position=\"mid1\" class=\"ad place-ad\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>He\u2019s also a top defensive prospect: a multi-time defensive award winner in college, he did an amazing job this season of rounding out his defensive game and becoming a more versatile chess piece on defense. Michigan had no fear using him across the positional spectrum to guard one through five. At times, he would pressure point guards 60 feet away from the rim while they brought the ball up the court. At other times, he would slide down and guard on the block. NBA coaching staffs will be excited to devise different ways to use Lendeborg on that end, as he seemed to embrace turning into a defensive stopper.<\/p>\n<p>Lendeborg profiles a lot better in an off-ball role than a primary role as there isn\u2019t a lot of craft or nuance to his gathers or ballhandling. He\u2019s a powerful player and has the tools to be a power player even at the NBA level, given his strength, length and shooting ability. It\u2019s all pretty straightforward and based on power in a way that I\u2019m not sure will translate to separating regularly from his man in the NBA, unless a teammate or a ball screen creates an advantage for him.<\/p>\n<h2>Sam Vecenie\u2019s draft guide summary<\/h2>\n<div data-ath-video-stream=\"RREh9C77jZQjKzZ\">\n<div class=\"VideoHost_Root__QeM_i\">\n<div class=\"VideoHost_VideoWidth__XjNKI VideoHost_Portrait__XBaJC\">\n<div class=\"VideoTitleFrame_Root__AGckL\">\n<div>\n<div class=\"VideoTitleFrame_Title__npf3B\">Yaxel Lendeborg is one of the best high-leverage role player bets in the 2026 NBA Draft<\/div>\n<div class=\"VideoTitleFrame_Authors__jxyYV\">Sam Vecenie<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"VideoTitleFrame_VideoWrapper__Xgp47\">{&#8220;@context&#8221;:&#8221;https:\/\/schema.org&#8221;,&#8221;@type&#8221;:&#8221;VideoObject&#8221;,&#8221;@id&#8221;:&#8221;https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/video\/RREh9C77jZQjKzZ\/&#8221;,&#8221;url&#8221;:&#8221;https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/video\/RREh9C77jZQjKzZ\/&#8221;,&#8221;name&#8221;:&#8221;Yaxel Lendeborg is one of the best high-leverage role player bets in the 2026 NBA Draft&#8221;,&#8221;description&#8221;:&#8221;Ahead of the 2026 NBA Draft, Sam Vecenie breaks down what makes Michigan&#8217;s Yaxel Lendeborg stand out as a draft prospect.&#8221;,&#8221;uploadDate&#8221;:&#8221;2026-06-10T18:53:03.406Z&#8221;,&#8221;duration&#8221;:&#8221;PT1M50S&#8221;,&#8221;thumbnailUrl&#8221;:&#8221;https:\/\/cdn-media.theathletic.com\/video-stream\/auto-thumbnail\/RREh9C77jZQjKzZ\/P8Nsdv4CrRk6.0000000.jpg&#8221;,&#8221;contentUrl&#8221;:&#8221;https:\/\/video.nyt.com\/athletic\/streams\/RREh9C77jZQjKzZ\/P8Nsdv4CrRk6\/P8Nsdv4CrRk6.m3u8&#8243;,&#8221;transcript&#8221;:&#8221;Michigan&#8217;s Yaxel Lindeborg led the Wolverines to a national title this year with well-rounded play at 23 years old. A consensus first-team All-American, Linenborg&#8217;s two-way contributions have teams really, really excited. Here&#8217;s why Lindenborg is one of the best high leverage role-player bets in the 2026 NBA draft class. With a journey to this level unlike any other, Lindenborg only played 11 games of high school basketball before heading to junior college, then transferred to UAB. And eventually got to Michigan. But this isn&#8217;t your normal 23-year-old draft prospect. Lindeborg is massive at nearly 6&#8217;9 without shoes, possessing a 7-foot3 wingspan and a 9-foot standing reach as a wing. He defends on the perimeter and on the interior. He knocks down shots from distance and is an elite transition player who attacks the glass and creates opportunities both for himself and teammates. Here&#8217;s why it&#8217;s easy to imagine Lindeborg fitting in the NBA. Linenborg is a Threat from behind the three-point line, having drilled 37% from 3 this season. The ball comes out of his hand clean off the catch with good rotation. If you give him room, he&#8217;s gonna make it. That 3-point shooting opens up the floor for Lindenborg with how he&#8217;s able to attack off the bounce. Watch how he&#8217;s able to attack the top foot here as he sees Xavier Edmonds get his back turned too far and drive to the rim, bumping Edmonds and finishing through contact to the nice floater. Then Lindenborg will just make winning plays. Pretty regularly. This one, he crashes in from the perimeter when he feels no one is gonna get a body on him. He just goes, catches in the air and finishes all in one motion. The closest point of comparison I could come up with for something like this was Aaron Gordon, a player who&#8217;s probably a little bit overmatched as the top two option in the NBA but can be one of the three best players on a great team due to how he impacts the game on both ends of the court. That&#8217;s really kind of what we&#8217;re looking for in terms of upside with Yaxel Linderborg.&#8221;,&#8221;ineligibleRegion&#8221;:[&#8220;BI&#8221;,&#8221;BY&#8221;,&#8221;CD&#8221;,&#8221;CF&#8221;,&#8221;CU&#8221;,&#8221;IQ&#8221;,&#8221;IR&#8221;,&#8221;KP&#8221;,&#8221;LB&#8221;,&#8221;LY&#8221;,&#8221;ML&#8221;,&#8221;NI&#8221;,&#8221;RU&#8221;,&#8221;SD&#8221;,&#8221;SO&#8221;,&#8221;SS&#8221;,&#8221;SY&#8221;,&#8221;UA&#8221;,&#8221;VE&#8221;,&#8221;YE&#8221;,&#8221;ZW&#8221;],&#8221;publisher&#8221;:{&#8220;@type&#8221;:&#8221;NewsMediaOrganization&#8221;,&#8221;@id&#8221;:&#8221;https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/#publisher&#8221;,&#8221;name&#8221;:&#8221;The Athletic&#8221;,&#8221;url&#8221;:&#8221;https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/&#8221;,&#8221;foundingDate&#8221;:&#8221;2016-01-25&#8243;,&#8221;logo&#8221;:{&#8220;@type&#8221;:&#8221;ImageObject&#8221;,&#8221;@id&#8221;:&#8221;https:\/\/theathletic.com\/app\/themes\/athletic\/assets\/img\/the-athletic-wordmark-black.png&#8221;,&#8221;url&#8221;:&#8221;https:\/\/theathletic.com\/app\/themes\/athletic\/assets\/img\/the-athletic-wordmark-black.png&#8221;,&#8221;contentUrl&#8221;:&#8221;https:\/\/theathletic.com\/app\/themes\/athletic\/assets\/img\/the-athletic-wordmark-black.png&#8221;,&#8221;creditText&#8221;:&#8221;The Athletic&#8221;,&#8221;height&#8221;:&#8221;60&#8243;,&#8221;width&#8221;:&#8221;435&#8243;},&#8221;publishingPrinciples&#8221;:&#8221;https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/edit-guidelines\/&#8221;,&#8221;sameAs&#8221;:&#8221;https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/The_Athletic&#8221;},&#8221;author&#8221;:[{&#8220;@type&#8221;:&#8221;Person&#8221;,&#8221;name&#8221;:&#8221;Sam Vecenie&#8221;}]}<\/p>\n<div class=\"AspectRatioBox_root__AKv5b\" style=\"aspect-ratio:9 \/ 16;max-height:min(100%)\">\n<div class=\"AspectRatioBox_inner__86C_2\" style=\"aspect-ratio:9 \/ 16\">\n<div class=\"VideoStreamPlayer_GridStack__2H0p2\"><video preload=\"none\"><\/video><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>There are some limitations with Lendeborg as a true creator, but it\u2019s hard to find a player more ready-made to step into an NBA rotation. He\u2019s a monster defender with legitimate plus-plus tools in terms of size and length at 6 feet 9 with a 7-foot-4 wingspan and the fluidity to slide his feet laterally. I would bet on him maxing out just below the level of All-Defense, but I don\u2019t think I can completely rule it out if he really decides he wants to be a stopper.<\/p>\n<div id=\"top-league-content-root\"><\/div>\n<p>    {&#8220;endpoint&#8221;:&#8221;https:\/\/api-prd-nyt.theathletic.com\/graphql&#8221;}<\/p>\n<p>Then on offense, he has a very versatile skill set that should translate exceedingly well toward playing off other stars. I loved the way he slotted into the team concept this year at Michigan and didn\u2019t make things about himself. At times, I\u2019m not sure Lendeborg truly understands how complete his game is and how talented he is. But when it comes to slotting into a role in the NBA and playing off superstars, that\u2019s not always a bad thing.<\/p>\n<div class=\"ad-container\">\n<div class=\"ad-wrapper article-treatment\">\n<div class=\"ad-slug-container\">\n<p class=\"ad-slug\">Advertisement<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"mid2\" data-position=\"mid2\" class=\"ad place-ad\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>There\u2019s a chance he ends up peaking as a top-50 or so player in the league because of his two-way play. And the best part is that the team that selects him will get significant value on his rookie-scale deal because of how ready he is to enter the NBA.<\/p>\n<p>My idea here is basically, \u201cWhat if you made Rui Hachimura a terrific defender who could also pass?\u201d Or, what if Lendeborg is just a slight step below OG Anunoby? 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439px){background-color:transparent}.player-card__photo.svelte-1u319qg{height:100%;width:auto;overflow:hidden;img.svelte-1u319qg{width:100%;height:58px;object-fit:cover;transform:translateY(2%) scale(1.45);transform-origin:top center;object-position:top center;@media (min-width: 379px){transform:translateY(0) scale(1.5)}@media (min-width: 499px){transform:translateY(2%) scale(1.5)}@media (min-width: 600px){transform:translateY(3%) scale(1.3)}}}}}}.recirc-link.svelte-1u319qg{display:inline-block;margin-top:10px;font-size:13px;font-family:var(&#8211;g-franklin);color:var(&#8211;g-color-grays-80);text-decoration:underline;text-decoration-thickness:1px;text-underline-offset:2px;font-weight:600;@media (min-width: 379px){font-size:14px}@media (min-width: 720px){font-size:16px;margin-top:14px}}@media (prefers-color-scheme: dark){.native-mobile{.player-card.svelte-1u319qg{background-color:var(&#8211;g-color-grays-70);&#8211;g-player-photo-bg-color: var(&#8211;g-color-grays-70)}.player-card__tagline.svelte-1u319qg{color:var(&#8211;g-color-grays-20)!important}.player-card__player-info.svelte-1u319qg,.player-card__player-info.svelte-1u319qg .player-name-and-school.svelte-1u319qg,.player-card__player-info.svelte-1u319qg .player-school.svelte-1u319qg,.recirc-link.svelte-1u319qg{color:var(&#8211;g-color-grays-10)!important}}}<\/p>\n<div id=\"g-bk-VRlZQ16v5iHfRA\" class=\"birdkit-body g-bk-VRlZQ16v5iHfRA g-dark-mode-incompatible\" data-preview-slug=\"bk-VRlZQ16v5iHfRA\" data-birdkit-hydrate=\"b965ab34895456f6\">\n<div class=\"tk-embed-wrapper-class graphics-container-impressions fp-ignore svelte-1ma8250\" data-module-label=\"nba_draft_guide_2026\" data-module-type=\"embed\" data-module-context=\"nba_draft_guide_2026\" data-module-id=\"player_card\"><a class=\"graphic-wrapper-link svelte-1ma8250\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/interactive\/nba-draft-guide-2026\/player\/yaxel-lendeborg-michigan-forward\/\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"player-card svelte-1u319qg\">\n<div class=\"player-card__player-info svelte-1u319qg\">\n<div class=\"content-wrapper svelte-1u319qg\">\n<div class=\"position-rank-container svelte-1u319qg\"><span class=\"position-rank-badge svelte-j9csdc\"><span class=\"position-rank-badge__position svelte-j9csdc\">Overall<\/span> <span class=\"position-rank-badge__rank svelte-j9csdc\">9<\/span><\/span> <span class=\"position-rank-badge svelte-j9csdc\"><span class=\"position-rank-badge__position svelte-j9csdc\">Forward<\/span> <span class=\"position-rank-badge__rank svelte-j9csdc\">3<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<p> <span class=\"player-name-and-school svelte-1u319qg\"><span class=\"player-name svelte-1u319qg\"><span class=\"player-name-text\">Yaxel Lendeborg<\/span><\/span> <span class=\"player-school svelte-1u319qg\">Michigan<\/span><\/span> <\/p>\n<p class=\"player-card__tagline svelte-1u319qg\">Versatile two-way forward who is older but possesses elite tools and winning mindset.<\/p>\n<p> <span class=\"recirc-link svelte-1u319qg\">Read full profile \u203a<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"player-card__photo-container svelte-1u319qg\">\n<div class=\"player-card__photo svelte-1u319qg\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/graphics-cdn.theathletic.com\/nba-draft-guide-2026\/images\/yaxel-lendeborg-michigan-forward-profile.png\" alt=\"Photo of Yaxel Lendeborg Michigan\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"svelte-1u319qg\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/a><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<h2>John Hollinger\u2019s analysis<\/h2>\n<p>An athletic forward whose career trajectory likely will land somewhere between James Johnson and Jalen Johnson, Lendeborg is a draft anomaly as an ancient 23-year-old who nonetheless was so good that he should be a top-10 pick.<\/p>\n<p>Lendeborg was arguably the best player in college basketball while leading Michigan to a national title, and a lot of what he did best should translate right away. He is a Day 1 defensive stopper who likely will be assigned to guard some of the best players in the league immediately. He can defend one through five and, when he\u2019s not starting, might have a lot of use as a junk-ball center with second units.<\/p>\n<p>Lendeborg is a fantastic rebounder who pushes his own rebounds in transition and creates havoc at the other end because of it. He makes good passes on the move and can handle the ball, and if you don\u2019t stop him, he\u2019s going to put you on a poster. Just check out his annihilation dunk against Saint Louis in the second round of the NCAA Tournament if you don\u2019t believe me; he should get drafted on that play alone.<\/p>\n<p id=\"article-pickem\">\n<p>Lendeborg\u2019s biggest weakness is an iffy 3-point shot and a limited one-on-one game in the half court, but he is so good in so many other areas that he will help a team even if he shoots 30 percent from 3. He might be quite a bit better, actually; he improved to 37.2 percent from 3 last season on fairly significant volume and made 80.5 percent from the line.<\/p>\n<div class=\"ad-container\">\n<div class=\"ad-wrapper article-treatment\">\n<div class=\"ad-slug-container\">\n<p class=\"ad-slug\">Advertisement<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"mid3\" data-position=\"mid3\" class=\"ad place-ad\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<h2>David Aldridge\u2019s draft confidential<\/h2>\n<p>College assistant coach No. 3 (his team played Michigan): I thought he guarded the best (opposing) player, so I admire him for that. He guarded point guards, he guarded threes. You could switch with him. I think he\u2019s a really good player. When he wasn\u2019t banged up, down the stretch, he made 3s when they really needed him, and made his free throws when he needed them. I like him because he takes the challenge. But, he talks too much. But, he\u2019s a real talent.<\/p>\n<p>Western Conference scout No. 1: The best player (at the Nike Academy last August) was Lendeborg. Could really play every element of the game: move the ball, rebound the ball, shoot the ball, handle the ball. There wasn\u2019t anything he couldn\u2019t do. Yaxel\u2019s biggest issue is he doesn\u2019t have a star\u2019s mentality. He\u2019s the guy who relentlessly and ritualistically is looking to make the right play. Whereas, your star player has to sometimes say, \u2018You know, it\u2019s the right play for me to swing it to that guy, but I\u2019m better than him; I\u2019m gonna take it.\u2019 That\u2019s what your star has to do. Yaxel\u2019s just not that guy. He\u2019ll pass the ball to the 32 percent shooter and encourage him to throw up a shot, when Yaxel shoots (37) percent from 3.<\/p>\n<p><em>This story will be updated.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Athletic has\u00a0live coverage of the 2026 NBA Draft. The Golden State Warriors selected Yaxel Lendeborg with the No. 11 pick on Tuesday in the NBA Draft. Lendeborg averaged 15.1 points, 6.8 rebounds and 3.2 assists for the national champion Michigan Wolverines. He\u2019s a good athlete, as he\u2019s fluid and plays with power. Lendeborg carries [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[226,241],"class_list":["post-2007507","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-crawlmanager","tag-nytimes-com"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2007507","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2007507"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2007507\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2007507"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2007507"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2007507"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}