The Golden State Warriors got their first win of the season on the road against the Denver Nuggets in a 134-114 victory behind a career night from rookie Yaxel Lendeborg.
Lendeborg led all scorers in a game that featured Stephen Curry, Jamal Murray and Nikola Jokic. The Warriors' 24-year-old rookie put up a double-double, giving Golden State 31 points, 12 rebounds, six assists and a block.
The No. 11 overall pick in the 2026 NBA Draft shot relatively well from everywhere on the court, except from deep.
Lendeborg shot 9-of-19, including 1-of-8 on 3-point field goals. He's continued to adapt to the NBA game, staying aggressive and getting easy opportunities at the free throw line. The rookie finished 12-of-13 from the charity stripe.
Warriors head
coach Steve Kerr pointed out that the rookie has things that he still needs to recognize and learn, but he's overall impressed by his rookie early on by the things that he's been able to come in and immediately do to contribute to the team.
"The ability to do what Jimmy (Butler) does, slow the game down, get fouled, create shots for himself, or others, it's a game changer for us. And so now we've got to take advantage of this momentum for the night," Kerr said. "Obviously tough to start 0-3, but long, long season, and we feel like we've got a good team, and we can win a lot of games."
Kerr is excited by Lendeborg's ability. He's coming off of a 26-point performance against the Phoenix Suns on Oct. 24. Lendeborg is adapting to the league, rather swiftly. The rookie averages 21.8 points, 9.2 rebounds and 4.8 assists through his first four career games.
"I think that's the exciting part, is where this can go," Kerr said. "There's still probably 10 plays that I could pull up on tape where he made mistakes, either defensively, or offensively. Not recognizing something that he needs to recognize. Despite all that, he just dominated the game and took over. At 24, in his fourth game ... pretty impressive. We're gonna keep coaching him, and keep trying to get him to learn the NBA game, and make the most of that enormous potential he's got."
It wasn't just Lendeborg. After all, he still plays on a team with No. 30. Curry was perfect from the field in the win. He scored 24 points on 8-for-8 shooting, 3-for-3 on 3-pointers and 5-for-5 from the free throw line.
Curry was all positive when asked about Lendeborg. There's a common excitement about what he brings to the table.
"Yaxel played amazing, we were flying around on defense, that's how we got to win," Curry said in a postgame interview with Peacock. When asked the most impressive thing about the rook, Curry noted his composure.
"He just came off of NCAA championship run," Curry said. "He's just got composure and feel. ...His size on the court, he's a matchup problem, but he's never really in a hurry and he's starting to see the pictures really well. (He's) distributing and being aggressive getting the free throw line, offensive rebound. Kind of a full package, so we want him to still continue to play aggressive."
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Yaxel Lendeborg scores career-high 31 points in Warriors first win
