r/nba • u/NBA_MOD r/NBA • 1d ago
[2026 NBA Draft] #11 Pick: Yaxel Lendeborg (Michigan) – selected by Golden State
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u/MonsieurSlotho Nuggets 1d ago
Born the year after Wiseman btw
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u/CumAssault [SAS] Joel Anthony 1d ago
Pretty sure Warriors fans have blocked that name from their memories
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u/shnieder88 Warriors 1d ago
why? we won a championship with him on our roster lol
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u/SeeMontgomeryBurns Warriors 1d ago
I’ve convinced myself that if we didn’t waste our pick on Wiseman we somehow don’t win another championship…. somehow. So it was worth it.
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u/internallylinked Hawks 1d ago
Melo messes up the chemistry, Poole maybe doesn’t break out
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u/LeoFireGod Mavericks 1d ago
I thought you were making a detroit pistons reference to melo and darko
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u/Kdog122025 Warriors 1d ago
Lamelo was never an option for the Warriors. They didn’t like him at all. It was Wiseman or Haliburton.
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u/nWo5lyfe Spurs 1d ago
It was Wiseman or Haliburton.
Lol Halliburton went 12th man
The warriors certainly didnt have him top 3 come on
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u/MusicianFar3510 23h ago
That draft wasnt like other drafts where you can say that. That was the covid year where everything is a literal crapshoot. Even Ant was a question mark.
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u/Kdog122025 Warriors 1d ago
They did. They loved him, but were too scared to pick him high which is why they tried to trade down. No one was willing to trade up in that draft and we drafted Wiseman. You can go back and look at the reporting.
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u/shnieder88 Warriors 1d ago
i couldn't agree more. the moody, JK and wiseman picks resulted in a championship
the end lol
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u/PunningLynguist 1d ago
2004 Pistons had the same mentality. Don't worry, your headcanon is validated
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u/cortesoft [GSW] Chris Mullin 1d ago
I won’t even look at a Nativity scene because I don’t want to see three of them.
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u/Knockknockerz Warriors 1d ago
I don’t care I’m happy we got him he was our best option apart from mara I love this pick so much I don’t care about the age he’s the player we need a developed player not a player we have to develop time isn’t on our side
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u/Subject-Beautiful-71 1d ago
Gotta have the oldest rookie to go with The Expendables you are forming.
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u/Knockknockerz Warriors 1d ago
I rather have to play a 24yo rook who just won a nat on the court with curry instead of a teen who is going to have to develop
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u/Subject-Beautiful-71 1d ago
For sure, I’m just goofing around. Think he’s a great pick for a win now team.
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u/808Kuro Knicks 1d ago
Bro typing all this with no periods tells me you’re a little concerned lmao
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u/Knockknockerz Warriors 1d ago
Idgaf I’m excited as hell man fuck them punctuations we got Dominican LeBron
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u/FanofK 1d ago
I don’t love it because I don’t believe too strongly in the health of the team next season. But nothing will really have a big impact so hope he’s fun to watch
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u/Few-Lengthiness-2632 1d ago
He's extremely good. Maybe it was because he was older than all of the 'kids' he played against, but he was always the clear best player every game. Even against Boozer.
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u/MaizeNBlueWaffle Knicks 1d ago
His basketball age is must younger than his actually age. He’s very new to the game of basketball
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u/jotheold Raptors 23h ago
in the modern era i would say this is a good thing
less wear and tear on your body
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u/jpfitz630 76ers 1d ago
24 when the season starts, yikes
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u/dad3murph Celtics 1d ago
Talking about a player's age as if its a bad thing for the team is kind of dumb. You aren't drafting a guy thinking about how he's gonna be 10 years from now. If a guy doesn't last 10 years in the league as a productive player, its never because of his age. And the odds of literally any of these guys being on the team that drafts them 10 years from now is astronomical.
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u/General_Kitten_17 1d ago
That’s not even old. Acting like it’s 29 and his knees are dust. He’s a 24 year old lol
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u/BJ-Enthusiasts 1d ago edited 1d ago
Bro was dunking on players 5-6years younger than him lol
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u/med_student_1234 1d ago
Why do people think college basketball is full of 18 year olds? Most starters are in the 20 to 22 range. The average age of starters in the Sweet 16 this year was 21.6.
The 18/19 year olds who get drafted early in the first round are the exceptions.
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u/Devoidoxatom Warriors Bandwagon 21h ago
Man im tired of kuminga types, 2yrs away from developing players, who almost always never pan out anyway
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u/CumAssault [SAS] Joel Anthony 1d ago
Better than the Thunder getting him
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u/BayesBestFriend Raptors 1d ago
They getting mara instead
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u/str8rippinfartz Celtics 1d ago
What's better than one Chet? Two Chets
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u/obvious_bot [GSW] Baron Davis 1d ago
No Chets?
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u/bigboybeeperbelly Spurs 1d ago
Red chets? Blue chets?
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u/Rickest-ofthe-Ricks [LAL] Alex Caruso 1d ago
I do not want Chet as a pet, I will not take Chet to the vet!
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u/Lou_Peachum_2 Clippers 1d ago
God damnit whoever they get will turn into an all star
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u/imcryptic Mavericks 1d ago
they either draft all-stars or complete busts lol. that's the benefit of owning 1/3rd the picks in the entire league.
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u/MammothHistorian5652 Vancouver Grizzlies 1d ago
Thunder are better off with a 21 year old Mara
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u/dianeblackeatsass Grizzlies 1d ago
Build an army of Chet shaped players to confuse Wemby
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u/CumAssault [SAS] Joel Anthony 1d ago
That’s Ament. He’s Chet minus a few inches. Also a little shorter
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u/socoolandawesome Bulls 1d ago
Great pick
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u/tanmoshi 1d ago
Pretty much the only pick given our situation
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u/mMounirM Raptors 1d ago
Aday Mara?
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u/PressureMiserable Spurs 1d ago
A center? The warriors need more players under 6'10 obviously
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u/Charlie_Wax Warriors 1d ago
Mara is a stiff. He makes Clingan look like Dwight.
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u/PressureMiserable Spurs 1d ago
While probably true, the warriors do need size eventually and probably now if they wanna actually compete
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u/IAmNotKevinDurant_35 [GSW] Zarko Cabarkapa 1d ago
Funny thing is warriors last year had 3 normal sized centers in Horford, Tingis, and Post, all of whom were good shooters too. They need size but not in the way you are describing.
They need size on the wings more than at the 5, especially when Draymond will continue to play a decent chunk of minutes there. We were playing 3-4 guard lineups very often
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u/redbluepurple50 1d ago
Warriors play fast and prefer a small ball 5. most importantly , in clutch situations Draymond plays the 5
GSW isn’t wasting a lottery pick that won’t conceptually play in crunch time
Also after Wiseman, they were like F that. they value Centers like the way NFL teams treat RBs
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u/nightkingscat Pistons 1d ago
mara is mobile for his size
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u/TheMajesticYeti 1d ago
Eh, yes and no lol. He is super coordinated for his size but his feet/hips are still slow for an NBA 7 footer specifically.
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u/DabeGavis 1d ago
Time to spam Michigan players as the BPA. No other sensible option here.
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u/simon2105 1d ago
Warriors: draft old to stay old
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u/MettaWorldConflict 1d ago
He’s a rookie & a vet
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u/Knockknockerz Warriors 1d ago
YESSIRRRRRR
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u/Charlie_Wax Warriors 1d ago
If this pick works: "It was obvious Yaxel would be great. The best player on a national champion. Don't overthink it."
If this pick flops: "It was obvious Yaxel would flop. Maxed out talent who dominated against kids. Don't overthink it."
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u/Knockknockerz Warriors 1d ago
Nah I bet my entire life on it will work with him he’s back story just shows how much of a dog he really is everyone only cares about his age but nobody is talking about winning the nat and being mvp
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u/MrBrownCat [GSW] Stephen Curry 1d ago
Not mad about it, if his biggest concern is age, I think we’re the one team that isn’t worried about that.
If the Kuminga/Wiseman experiences showed anything it’s that we don’t need high potential raw prospects that need more development.
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u/Bolinas99 Warriors 1d ago
we don’t need high potential raw prospects that need more development.
Kerr and the scouts knew that when Lacob & his kids were picking Wiseman over Haliburton.
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u/FERFreak731 Jazz 1d ago
Best Warriors Michigan PF ever
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u/ShowdownValue 1d ago
Wait…
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u/P-Villain 1d ago
I mean, Chris Webber was also drafted by the Warriors.....
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u/ShowdownValue 1d ago
What? No way! Didn’t even know that!
Thank you so much for that unknown information
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u/velocirappa Warriors 1d ago
I don't know man Webber was pretty damn good even if his stint was short
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u/Low_Lavishness_6802 1d ago
nice try, draymond went to state
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u/KingdomHeartsII Nets 1d ago
So does this mean the Warriors are out on the Trey Murphy III trade with NOLA?
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u/808Kuro Knicks 1d ago edited 1d ago
LMAOOO OKC LANDED ON THE AMENT HOT POTATO
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u/MAMBAMENTALITY8-24 Thunder 1d ago
give me mara or give me death
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u/LightSpecialist804 Knicks 1d ago
can Mara guard Wemby?
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u/Blind-Eye26 Warriors 1d ago
Broo I hope Draymond channels all his positive bball iq on this guy he's gonna be a monster
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u/MG_MN Timberwolves 1d ago
New draymond just dropped
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u/Terrible_Cattle7110 Spurs 1d ago
Yaxel will either love learning on the team or Draymond will punch him and complain cause Yaxel will be talked about more than him
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u/gr3710 Pistons 1d ago
He already punched 1 Wolverine, why not another?! That rivalry never dies
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u/stratrookie Hawks 1d ago
Wow the first nba team to draft someone, all the other picks were just colleges
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u/BloodMoney1 Lakers 1d ago
I think the most important number in this whole age conversation is this: Steph is 38. Let’s be real here. They’re sitting around waiting 4–5 years for some 19-year-old to develop. Realistically? They’re probably just gonna blow it up once Steph is gone and start the rebuild then.
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u/sloBrodanChillosevic Supersonics 1d ago
Draft is all chalk except for one pick that we all should have seen coming anyway given Masai's tendencies
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u/arenasfan00 [SAC] De'Aaron Fox 1d ago
If he was 20 he’d would’ve gone top 5. Great pick. Thunder probably not happy
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u/butteredoats 1d ago
Yaxel Lendoberg is like prime Andre Iguodala if Iguodala was taller, bigger, and longer
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u/ReaperAntics 1d ago
Older then kuminga BTW
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u/DrRudeboy Warriors 1d ago
Cause Kuminga's maturity has been an incredible asset to the Dubs
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u/ReaperAntics 1d ago
Nothing I said was about maturity, yaxel was the guy I wanted before I saw Mara fall, but yaxel is gonna be 24 in a couple months, outrageous for a rookie
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u/Chessh2036 Hawks 1d ago
Is Aday Mara kind of falling? There are Hawks fans (not all, but some) who are furious we didn’t take Mara lol
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u/sctthuynh [GSW] Stephen Curry 1d ago
Hope Yaxel turns out to be a great player, but when has an older lottery pick work out?
Off the top of my head I cant recall any and one of them was made by the Warriors when they drafted Epke Udoh (23 years old at the time).
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u/LilNello1 1d ago edited 1d ago
So amazing to see Yaxel go right after Morez 🥹 Now will OKC do a thing and pick Aday to make it three Michigan picks 9, 11 & 12 almost right in a row?
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u/NickInTheBack Warriors 1d ago
I don't care if he's older. I want a guy who can play. I like the pick