Yaxelmania is beginning Dub Nation. The rookie Yaxel Lendeborg is fresh off of winning a national championship at Michigan, taking Summer League MVP in Vegas, and stealing the show in Denver on a night he shared the court with Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray, and Stephen Curry.
His 31 points, 12 rebounds, and 6 assists helped the Golden State Warriors get their first win of the season after dropping their first three games. It also got him a primetime audience with legends turned commentators Carmelo Anthony,
Tracy McGrady, and Vince Carter in the postgame TV show. What struck me the most about his interview was the way he openly beamed with gratitude on the chance to speak with those greats, asking for advice live on national television.
That’s what balling will do: get you noticed by Hall-of-Famers. The superlatives are rolling in: he’s got a nice jump shot, the physicality to get to where he wants to go, a smooth handle with passing feel, and an indomitable will. Just ask Luka Doncic. Speaking of Hall-of-Famers, Yax has been receiving great praise from his legendary teammates, starting with Stephen Curry:
“His composure. I mean, he just came off of an NCAA championship run,” Curry noted. “He’s just got composure, feel. His size on the court; he’s a matchup problem. He’s never really in a hurry and he’s starting to see the pictures really well. Distributing, being aggressive, getting to the free-throw line, offensive rebounding. Kind of the full package. So, we want him to continue to play aggressive.”
His Coach Steve Kerr pontificated on Big Yax’s play as well:
“He’s strong as an ox and skilled,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. “The way the game’s played, he’s going to be able to get to the line a ton. You saw it tonight. Basically in all the critical moments of the game, we just put the ball in his hands. And for a rookie to be that advanced already, it’s extremely rare.”
Then you open the stat sheet, and Yaxelmania starts evolving from a fan base on a desperate sugar high into legitimate data. Through four games, Yax is averaging 21.8 points, 9.3 rebounds and 4.8 assists, and according to Real App he’s the first player since 1960 to post those numbers through his first four career games. He’s doing it on 45/35/77 shooting, and he’s leading all rookies in scoring in a draft class that was supposed to belong to Boozer, Dybantsa and Peterson.
The company he’s keeping is getting ridiculous. Per OptaSTATS, his 87 points and 37 rebounds make him one of four players since 1985-86with at least 85 points and 35 rebounds through his first four games. The other three are Patrick Ewing, David Robinson and Shaquille O’Neal, so a No. 11 pick who came up through junior college is now sharing a list with three Hall of Fame centers and Shaq’s size-22 sneakers. In franchise history, the only Warriors rookie who scored more in his first four games was Wilt Chamberlain in 1959. If your only competition is a guy who averaged 37.6 as a rookie, you can sleep just fine.
Denver is where the history books really started paying attention. Per Stathead, his 31, 12 and 6 in about 31 minutes made him only the second rookieever to post 30, 12 and 6 in 31 minutes or less, and the other one is Victor Wembanyama. He’s the first Warriors rookie since Rick Barry in 1966 with 30 points and 12 rebounds in a game, and the first since Steph Curry in February 2010 with 30, 10 and 5 in a road win. Take the rookie label off and it’s still rare air. According to AP’s Josh Dubow, Yax is only the fifth Warriors player in the last 50 seasonswith 31 points, 12 rebounds and 6 assists in a game, joining Kevin Durant, Jason Richardson, Ralph Sampson and Joe Barry Carroll.
And let’s not forget the action at the free throw line. Rookies usually have to wait a couple of years before the refs give them that whistle, but Yax has already taken 31 free throws through four games,seventh-most in the league, and he went 12-of-13 in Denver. “Strong as an ox” is a cute quote until you’re the guy trying to keep him out of the paint in the fourth quarter.
Four games is a sample you could fit on an index card so trust me, I know it doesn’t mean he’s the next LeBron James. But every list he’s landing on is full of names that ended up in Springfield, and the Warriors only have so many Steph years left to find out whether he’s headed there too. Also Bill Simmons said he was looking like the next LeBron James against Denver.
NO, seriously!
Yaxel Power is on the rise.
