Just a few days into training camp in Honolulu, Golden State Warriors rookie forward Yaxel Lendeborg appears to be making a strong impression on Stephen Curry.
Lendeborg was highly touted entering the draft this year for his scoring, rebounding, versatility and championship pedigree, traits the Warriors were enamored with. He is striving to showcase them this season to help the Warriors make a deep run.
The 11th overall pick had the chance to hit the court with the group during their offseason team minicamp in San Diego. Curry was pleased with how Lendeborg performed during those runs and has been impressed early in training camp.
He is obviously a winner. You don't have the success he had in college and the big role he had without that mentality.
He has got great feel. He, obviously, has great size. He was shooting it really well. You can tell he wants to make the right play, and for our offense and our whole game plan, that is usually going to shine when you're seeing the floor and making good decisions. I don't think he is afraid. He is open-minded. He is curious. He is listening. He is asking questions. You can tell he is locked in mentally. So, it is a lot for a rookie to kind of absorb all this information, process it and do it in real time, and then still have the confidence that even if you mess up, it is fine; it is the growing pains of your early career.
Lendeborg was the MVP of summer league, leading the Warriors to their second title in Las Vegas. Recording 21 points, 10 rebounds, two assists and two steals, Lendeborg was also the MVP of the title game against the Memphis Grizzlies.
Warriors coach Steve Kerr was impressed not only by his performance in the desert, but also by how he worked at the team facility throughout the summer. He loves the size and versatility that he brings to the lineup and believes the 24-year-old will "play a ton."
Lendeborg joked after the draft that he understood that Kerr doesn't play rookies a lot, but it is clear the team has grand plans for him this year. Curry and the team know he can help and will be careful not to put too much pressure on him in the early going.
"The expectation for him is just keep getting better," Curry said. "The nature of our league and social media and all of the microscope is that they're going to expect him to be a 20, eight and six guy right out of the gate or whatever number you put on him. His job is to block all of that out. He'll know if he is impactful. He'll know if he is helping win games, the stats and the numbers will follow. It is our job to protect that, but he also needs to have confidence coming in that he can impact the game as he establishes his own kind of metric of what a good game is."
This article originally appeared on Rookie Wire: Warriors' Stephen Curry gives Yaxel Lendeborg stamp of approval
