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The Golden State Warriors, to the surprise of nobody, drafted arguably the most NBA-ready player in the 2026 NBA Draft, forward Yaxel Lendeborg. The versatile two-way forward, who was drafted 11th overall, spent six total years playing college ball: three in community college, two at Alabama-Birmingham, and one at Michigan, where he won a national title this year.
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Lendeborg will turn 24 before the start of the season, making him very old by rookie standards. The flip side to that, of course, is that he should be ready to contribute from Day 1.
Which is good, because the Warriors need contributions. They missed out on LeBron James, and have yet to add any players from outside the organization (other than through the draft). On top of that, barring any additional trades, they’ll be without Moses Moody and Jimmy Butler III for the first half of the season. Which means the door is wide open for Lendeborg to get a lot of playing time right out of the gates. But will he? How much playing time do you think the Warriors will give him?
