Golden State Warriors rookie Yaxel Lendeborg has made an early impression during training camp, with head coach Steve Kerr and veteran guard De’Anthony Melton highlighting his versatility and physical attributes.
The 6-foot-9, 241-pound forward, whose wingspan exceeds 7-foot-3, has already demonstrated an ability to contribute at multiple positions during Golden State’s controlled 5-on-5 sessions.
Melton particularly praised Lendeborg’s understanding of the game, defensive mobility and willingness to use his size offensively.
“Man, Yax is … I think the big thing about Yax is he’s such a smart player,” Melton said. “So stuff just comes to him naturally. I don’t think he even notices sometimes. But like you said, his versatility. Like, he’s a big body. He can guard space, and that’s important. And he can go out to the rim not scared about it. And offensively, I mean, running into him when he sets a screen, you can feel the physicality you need, and that’s what you get from Draymond too.
“Him rolling to the basket, we’re trying to tell him, ‘I don’t think nobody wants to step in front of you rolling to the basket.’ He’s such a versatile player. We just got to continue to have him do it more and more.”
Lendeborg, who turned 24 on Wednesday, gained experience across several positions during his college career.
He began as a center at Arizona Western College, spent two seasons at UAB and later transitioned into a wing role at Michigan.
Golden State has already experimented with deploying him as a center during training camp, although Kerr acknowledged that adapting defensively to the position would require additional work.
The Warriors coach believes Lendeborg is particularly suited to playing either small forward or power forward, where his size, shooting and ball-handling could provide additional lineup flexibility.
“He’s just a basketball player,” Kerr said. “I mean, he can dribble, pass, shoot. It doesn’t really matter what position you play him.”
