The Golden State Warriors have a fearless rookie on their hands, according to their decorated head coach Steve Kerr.
According to Kerr, rookie Yaxel Lendeborg is one of the few bright spots in the Warriors’ dreadful start of the 2026-2027 NBA season. Kerr thinks Lendeborg showed the team a level of fearlessness that is not often seen in rookies.
However, Kerr still wants Lendeborg to understand more of the Warriors’ defensive process.
Steve Kerr’s Assessment on Warriors Rookie Yaxel Lendeborg’s Fearlessness
“Yeah, he’s fearless, he’s huge and he’s got a great skill set. He can dribble, pass and shoot,” Kerr said before pointing out specific plays from the Warriors’ 131-122 loss to the Phoenix Suns.
“The biggest thing is just continuing to learn the NBA and he’s feel that, he’s gonna do that. Play in the first half where he got free and then he launched himself into Maluach. We saw that play a few times last night with Edey. That’s gotta be a pull-up jumper, that’s gotta be a Euro step, that’s gotta be kick it out, in college he could do that, but this is a different league. He’ll learn, he’s playing a ton, and he’s gonna get all these reps, and we’re gonna keep showing him film, and he’ll get better and better.”
“The defensive side is where I want to see the most improvement though. His weak side awareness right now is very poor. With his size, he should be one of our best defenders at the rim. And right now he’s unaware on the weak side, and that’s an area he really has to improve.”
“Yeah, he’s fearless, he’s huge and he’s got a great skill set. He can dribble pass and shoot. The biggest thing is just continuing to learn the NBA and he’s feel that, he’s gonna do that. Play in the first half where he
Lendeborg delivered the best offensive performance of his young NBA career during Saturday night’s loss to the Suns.
The 24-year-old rookie stepped up for a severely shorthanded squad missing veterans Stephen Curry, Draymond Green, and Brandin Podziemski, putting up a team-high 19 shot attempts to explode for 26 points, 9 rebounds, 5 assists, and 1 block across 36 minutes of action.
Lendeborg put his exceptional shooting touch on full display by knocking down 6-of-11 from beyond the 3-point arc, punishing the Suns with transition pull-ups, catch-and-shoot triples, and side-step jumpers.
Despite Lendeborg’s individual brilliance and an additional 25 points from De’Anthony Melton, the Warriors were unable to overcome a massive 43-point showing from Devin Booker, dropping Golden State to a 0-3 start to the regular season.
Yaxel Lendeborg Has Already Proved He Is Fearless
Steve Kerr was right and Lendeborg has already shown that level of fearlessness since the opening night.
Tasked with guarding the six-time All-Star for large stretches of the opening-night game, Lendeborg refused to back down, aggressively picking Lakers’ Luka Doncic up past half-court, picking up a technical foul for his relentless trash talk, and boldly telling the superstar that he “sucks” and could not score on him.
Doncic was held to a mere 1-of-6 shooting with Lendeborg as his primary defender but the Warriors still lost to the LA Lakers, 127-105.
Lendeborg said after the game that he is not afraid to talk to anyone on the court, including Doncic, who is regarded as one of the best players in the world.
“Like, c’mon now. He’s gonna say what he wants to say, I’m gonna say what I want to say. I’m not afraid to talk to nobody, man. He’s not Michael Jordan. C’mon now. “It’s fun trash-talk. I feel like I did kind of take it overboard in the media, but it is what it is.”
Warriors Head Coach Describes Rookie Yaxel Lendeborg As ‘Fearless’