Yaxel Lendeborg carries the highest expectations for a Warriors rookie in a long time. Even with the high expectations for the 2026 NBA Draft’s No. 11 overall pick, general manager Mike Dunleavy told the SF Standard’s Tim Kawakami on “The TK Show” that Lendeborg already is exceeding expectations ahead of the regular season.
“I’ll say he’s been better in some areas that, maybe, we did not expect him to be so good in early,” Dunleavy explained. “But, it makes sense that he’s performing well in those areas. So yeah, we are really pleased.
“I think because of the nature of having [Kristaps Porziis] and Jimmy [Butler] and Moses [Moody] out – he’s gotten more opportunity and he will get more opportunity, just so far in summer league and preseason he’s shown why he’s going to be one of our better players.”
Warriors coach Steve Kerr told reporters that he is “leaning towards” including Lendeborg in the starting lineup. No Warriors rookie has started their first NBA game since James Wiseman in the 2020-21...