Warriors rookie Yaxel Lendeborg already is joining the statistical company of all-time greats. In only his fourth career NBA game, Lendeborg produced his first 30-point game Monday night, dropping 31 against the Denver Nuggets on the road to give the Warriors their first win of the 2026-27 NBA season. His 31 points were the most by a Warriors rookie since Eric Paschall scored 34 against the Portland Trail Blazers on Nov. 4, 2019. Nothing against Paschall, but let’s get back to talking about Hall of Famers.
Lendeborg also grabbed 12 rebounds and handed out six assists in Denver. He’s only the third Warriors rookie to ever have at least 31 points, 12 rebounds and six assists in a single game. The other two? Rick Barry and Wilt Chamberlain.
The Warriors took 21 free throws and Lendeborg accounted for 13 of them, making 12. The last Warriors rookie to make 12 free throws in a game was Steph Curry against the Blazers on April 14, 2010. That was Curry’s 80th game as a pro, which also was the final game of the regular season. Lendeborg just accomplished the feat playing his fourth game in the NBA.
His 87 points through four games...