The Golden State Warriors used the 11th overall pick in the 2026 NBA Draft on Yaxel Lendeborg, a consensus first-team All-American who was viewed by most as second only to Cameron Boozer among collegiate players last year. So why did he fall all the way to No. 11?
It’s fairly simple: his age. Lendeborg was a super senior who spent time at both a junior college and a lower-level NCAA school before transferring to Michigan his final year, where he won a national championship. Because of that, he’ll
turn 24 before making his NBA debut, which stands in stark contrast to everyone else drafted in the first round on Tuesday.
You can easily make the case that Lendeborg’s age limits his ceiling (the oldest player among the 10 prospects drafted ahead of Lendeborg, Brayden Burries, is a full three years younger). But Warriors general manager Mike Dunleavy Jr. doesn’t seem concerned. Speaking with reporters after the draft, Dunleavy wryly got off a joke, saying, “He’s what? 23? Almost 24? I’m not worried, because he’s not 38.”
While part of Lendeborg’s allure is that he’s one of, if not the most NBA-ready prospect in the draft, Dunleavy helped set expectations accordingly, saying, “I think it’s tough anytime a guy’s changing levels, whether you’re going from high school to college, college to the NBA … but generally guys like this guy, who’s physically read, who’s played at the highest level of college, won a national championship, maybe those guys can play sooner.”
Despite those comments, Dunleavy made it clear that the door is not only open for Lendeborg to earn minutes as a rookie, but that he’ll likely be thrust into a role by nature of the circumstances. “Next year, to be frank, whether we want him to or not,” Dunleavy explained, “Given our roster constraints, and injuries and stuff like that, the opportunity will be there.”
While Lendeborg’s age may have kept him from being one of the top picks in the draft, it surely is something of an asset to the Warriors. Golden State is hoping to compete for one of the top seeds in the Western Conference next year, but has a difficult path to reach that goal, due to a lack of depth on the roster, and serious injuries to Jimmy Butler III and Moses Moody, which will sideline each player until sometime around the All-Star break.
