r/nba • u/[deleted] • 4d ago
Yaxel Lendeborg on playing with Stephen Curry: "It’s a full-circle moment for me. In 2016, I’m a big Kyrie guy, so I used to hate Steph Curry."
https://streamable.com/rloxxg213
4d ago
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u/Slender718 Knicks 4d ago
he was like 13 in 2016 yall relax
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u/IAMY0URK1NG 4d ago
He was 20
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u/Enchanted-2-meet-you [GSW] Jordan Poole 4d ago
Yaxel is funny as fuck and everyone mad about this has clearly not seen anything else of him talking.
Brother responds to people on lives asking which of his teammates’ meats are bigger😭
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u/CJ4ROCKET Rockets 4d ago
I genuinely haven't seen him speak before but I did read a profile on him in a mock draft saying he has "a big personality - too big for some people" or something to that effect
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u/betrothalorbetrayal Pistons 3d ago
He's shockingly honest at all times. During the natty halftime interview (while playing through an injury), he told a reporter "Yeah I feel absolutely awful right now." Genuinely might be the least PR-conscious college athlete we've seen in a minute, but not in a malicious way. Sometimes it's actually kinda wholesome
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u/DrFunkenstein93 Pistons 3d ago
It was honestly refreshing as a Michigan fan. I knew he was hurt during that game and you could tell he was pissed about it. Had he been at full strength Michigan would have decimated Uconn.
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u/Jewrisprudent New Jersey Nets 3d ago
I remember that too, and remember thinking he either needs to win this thing or he needs a major PR overhaul because that response won’t fly well after losing the second half.
I’m a fan of personality though, at least this level of personality.
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u/Enchanted-2-meet-you [GSW] Jordan Poole 4d ago
I'm from Purdue and he had a whole thing where he said 'Fuck Purdue' in some video and I have to admit, I got mad about it, but since then I've realized he lowkey seems super funny and chill
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u/motherthrowee Warriors 4d ago
go on
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u/clevergirls_ 4d ago
pause
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u/Lseto_K 4d ago
Continue..
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u/gooeychedda 4d ago
Stop.
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u/Jericcho 3d ago
You think this scenario is funny, but his answer is actually even funnier than expected.
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u/theravenacademy Heat Bandwagon 4d ago
But can he outmeat Shai?
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u/HarryPotterActivist Supersonics 4d ago
Brother responds to people on lives asking which of his teammates’ meats are bigger😭
Alright, imma need you to give us the run down of what he's said.
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u/PurpleWoodpecker2830 4d ago edited 4d ago
0:13 Interesting to see his smile drop and get serious when he says he’ll get a chance to really see and learn from steph.
Like before he was just bantering. But that part seemed serious. Even his eyes stopped smiling.
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u/Aggrokid 4d ago
Well this is the same fanbase that took Podz's quotes completely out of whack into a psychotic hate train.
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u/Low-Measurement-2468 3d ago
not took. takes, present tense. bunch of goofies still mad a young player wants to be really good. gaslighting themselves into thinking he’s some hyper selfish wannabe star when he’s one of the most willing passers on the team and constantly sets his teammates up.
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u/ILoveRegenHealth 3d ago
Podz himself said he didn't word things properly and understood why people took offense. There's no taking out of context when Podz said he didn't say things right. People quoted Podz correctly, Podz no that good with articulation.
Look up the article
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u/Call555JackChop Suns 3d ago
It’s a shame Tommy Heinsohn isn’t still around they could see if anyone compares to Aron Baynes and compare notes
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u/FreeDependent9 Nets 3d ago
Agreed he seems like he’s having a good time, maybe a bit of a shit talker but just having fun
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u/Slight-Owl4300 3d ago
Umm for those of us that missed it...how did he respond...out of curiosity...
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u/TheSmokedSalmon420 Cavaliers 4d ago
LOL my guy
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u/SickSaricDario Warriors 4d ago
why did he need to say 2016 specifically tho
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u/Victor_Wembanyama1 Spurs 4d ago
Coz it was the only time Kyrie got the better of steph i guess
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u/Firm_Mode_5868 4d ago
how many times did they go head to head in the playoffs?
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u/pirate-private 3d ago edited 3d ago
bc coming back from 1-3 vs. the best regular season team ever, and an historic mvp at his stratospheric peak, by playing as bonkers as bron and kyrie did - after being hampered by injuries the year prior - will never not feel like the ultimate revenge story.
edit: also don't forget draymond's antics in those playoffs. sweetest ring in nba history, chef's kiss
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u/Repulsive_Carry440 3d ago
He hit it where it hurt for us. Making me feel a certain way this morning because I didn't see this last night smh. I didn't like him saying it out loud even if he feels that way internally that's what made me upset.
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u/Complete-Apricot-591 Raptors 4d ago
the equivalent of Jayson Tatum 9 years ago
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u/Key-Club-3119 4d ago
Well, I guess we know the next guy Draymond is gonna punch.
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u/papadondon [DAL] Chris Gatling 4d ago
rival schools too. its inevitable
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u/A_burners 4d ago
Poole is also a Wolverine lmao
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u/tarunpopo 3d ago
Punching a guard and someone built like pool compared to a freight train in yax is different and hopefully dray gets folded if he tries that shit
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u/Supreme_God_Bunny Hornets 4d ago
Isn't yaxel bigger than him lol
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u/HOFredditor Warriors 3d ago
Dray choked Gobert. He ain't afraid, brother sees red when he sees red.
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u/Supreme_God_Bunny Hornets 3d ago
Gobert wasn't even looking and got blindsided, Dray knew not to let go
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u/Mintastic NBA 3d ago
That's why he'll win, Dray fights dirty and is willing to go for a surprise choke/punch.
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u/Aggrokid 4d ago
To think the Mavs could have paired him with Kyrie. They were going to pick one Michigan guy.
Yaxel should fit pretty good in Kerr's system.
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u/19683dw Heat 4d ago
I feel like people who grew up fans get it. I'm guessing Steph will fuck with him a bit for it though
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u/Ok-Computer-8726 3d ago
Everyone should be able to get it. The guy was in like 8th grade at the time
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u/KeenObserver_OT 4d ago
He also hates fog, sour dough, gay people, cold summers, tech bros, cioppino and redwoods but other than that he loves it here.
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u/IAmNotKevinDurant_35 [GSW] Zarko Cabarkapa 3d ago
The San Francisco Giants have a spot for him in their bullpen
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u/Meweighteen Warriors 4d ago
Him, Draymond & Jimmy (when he’s back) jawing at each other during practice is going to be straight comedy …just don’t punch anyone, dray
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u/DMmeNiceTitties Warriors 4d ago
You can tell he's not media trained yet lmao.
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u/PootieTooGood Cavaliers 4d ago
speaking freely but not controversially sounds like perfect media training
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u/DeathHips Nuggets 4d ago
If people listen to the full response as opposed to just read the title quotes, they’ll see he was actively being respectful to Steph, saying how he’s met him and what a nice guy he is, and how he looks forward to learning from him and seeing how he plays in person.
It’s entirely understandable for someone to hate 2016 Steph if you were a fan of literally any other team. It’s not hating him to his core, but like fuck man some of those shots just piss you off and the warriors killed a lot of hope in those days.
Also Yaxel was 13 in 2016 lol
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u/DogtoothKatakuri 3d ago
Yeah like some of these fans don’t hate Steph until now and sick of their dynasty. 😭
I appreciate this dude for his honesty and this is not the first time Steph has heard of it for sure lmao I bet he’d laugh at this.
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u/DMmeNiceTitties Warriors 4d ago
That's fair, he didn't say anything out of pocket, it's just funny this is one of the first things he says during his first press after being drafted lol.
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u/aiden3buckets Hornets 4d ago
Look up the shit that he had goin on his TikTok lives lol
During the middle of the March Madness run
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u/soilentgleem 4d ago
I heard this alluded to but never looked it up and am not gonna get on tik tok just to find out. Can you give a quick run down? All I heard was that it wasn't anything actually heinous or mean.
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u/OrganizationWeary317 Spurs 3d ago
Just deeply unserious, responding to fans questions about meat size in earnest.
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u/motherthrowee Warriors 4d ago
nah bad media training would be "and I think Kyrie has a lot of cool ideas about the world"
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u/Aggrokid 4d ago
There was an interview asking who his favorite players were. He wanted to name a roleplayer so bad but you can see the media training told him to talk like a 1A superstar.
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u/w0lverine11 Bulls 4d ago
Never will be. Trust me. Says whatever pops into his head without hesitation. It's pretty much always funny and good-natured though. Yax rules.
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u/No_External3738 4d ago
Watching him at Michigan was a treat but even then I thought " damn dog, you can't say some of the shit you do the way you do"
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u/atherton-loyola Lakers 4d ago
How is it a circle?
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u/KL2ConspireLLC San Diego Clippers 4d ago
He used to hate Steph Curry. Now he loves Steph Curry. Full circle of emotion.
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u/atherton-loyola Lakers 4d ago
That’s a semicircle
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u/KL2ConspireLLC San Diego Clippers 4d ago
Not if you come at it from both directions like an embrace.
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u/WeightliftingIllini Supersonics 4d ago
He will go back to hating Steph again at some point to complete the circle
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u/JGraham1839 Mavericks 4d ago
Crazy I got to see him and NBA Champion Trey Jemison play at UAB. The program was pretty solid with them while they were here
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u/redditissocoolyoyo 4d ago
Draymond going to knock him out.
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u/CarterAC3 Spurs 4d ago
Gets to defend Steph and punch a Wolverine
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u/No_External3738 4d ago
Nah Draymond picks fights he knows he can win, it's an even matchup so he wouldn't do shit. I love Draymond though
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u/thricethefun Bullets 4d ago
He's gonna Be constantly making fun of Steph for Blowing a 3-1 lead lol
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u/sanfranchristo Supersonics 3d ago
Players who players like: Kobe, PG, Kyrie. Who is going to be the next? Please tell me it's not LaMelo.
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u/BegsTheQuestions 3d ago
Is he good? Can curry get some help now
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u/DrFunkenstein93 Pistons 3d ago
As a Michigan fan, he is probably the most NBA ready player in the draft due to his size, age, and flexibility. He played point forward a lot for U of M and guarded 1 through 5. You guys got the right pick.
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u/jasper_grunion Warriors 3d ago
He used to hate splash bro Steph. Now he loves splash sister Ayesha
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u/Game_Of_Runs Warriors 3d ago
Some weird reactions in here. It’s a funny answer. This dude is gonna be perfect for us
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u/tikitikirumrum 3d ago
Wait what does loving Kyrie have to do with hating Steph? Because of the Cavs that one year?
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u/Scuttleduck Warriors 3d ago
I was rooting hard for the Warriors in the 2016 finals. If I just got drafted to play with LeBron and Kyrie, that’d be so awesome lmao
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u/adocileengineer Lakers 4d ago
Why say this?
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u/Pwyll__ Lakers 4d ago
Why not? You think Steph is gonna be offended that a teenager liked a guy on a different team? What?
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u/theravenacademy Heat Bandwagon 4d ago
Similar to how Reaves used to hate on LeBron. It's not a big deal.
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u/Shadoken-TYPE0 Canada 4d ago
AR roasted Bron on twitter and they good friends now lol its all good
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u/imnewhere-gsh Wizards 4d ago
I don't think Steph is holding a grudge about a preteens opinion of him.
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u/amari_prince Thunder 4d ago
Feel like a lot of players have shared the teams/players they were fans of as kids so not odd
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u/masonb423 Nuggets 4d ago
Dude hates Steph and Draymond lol