No matter the sporting context, there is no greater, more lovably reliable archetype of professional athlete than the one whose journey begins from the blue-collared depths of the American workforce. And currently, there is no one who better encapsulates that reality than the latest Golden State Warriors rookie, Yaxel Lendeborg.
The 23-year-old Dominican American—who was selected with the 11th overall pick in the NBA Draft this summer—began his ascent from inside the warehouse of a cell phone accessories distributor working alongside his mother, before going to community college, and, quite miraculously, ending up as Stephen Curry’s teammate. And it looks like he could stay in San Francisco for the long-term haul.
Even in a league that is teeming with success stories, Lendeborg—who was born in Puerto Rico, and raised by his Dominican family in New Jersey—stands above the competition, and has the potential to win over Dub Nation for his rugged, relentless gameplay, and underdog origins.
Unlike most NBA Lottery Picks, Lendeborg wasn’t a top candidate from a young age—although both of his parents did play basketball for the Dominican Republic national teams, so naturally he was gifted with the physical tools to excel in the sport. In high school, Lendeborg was cut mid-season from his team, due to his academic underachievement. He wouldn’t play for the following two years until continuing his education in a dual-enrollment program at Camden County College, where he joined the varsity unit for a handful of games and improved his grades off-the-court — again, an unorthodox and practically unheard of route for a future NBA player.
Upon finishing high school, he began to work at a VoiceComm warehouse, with no intentions of ever playing professional sports, until his mother encouraged him to pursue basketball for a final time. He joined a regional showcase game for Dominican players, sent his highlights around the country, and ended up at Arizona Western—a lower division junior college in Yuma, Arizona—where in his second season, he was recognized as a National Junior College Athletic Association All-American. Reaching the NBA from that point is about as farfetched as thinking you could dangle from the bottom of the Bay Bridge and scale your way back to shore, unscathed. It just doesn’t happen. Unless, of course, you have a badass name like Yaxel.
Very few notable players, let alone anyone, in NBA history are products of community college. But the ones who are, tend to be generational overachievers, cut from an especially scrappy cloth. There’s Dennis Rodman (a five-time NBA champion, eccentric trendsetter and high-octane antagonist from the 80s and 90s); Larry Johnson (Space Jam co-star of Converse’s “Grandmama” fame); Ben Wallace (has there ever been a more effortlessly buff dude in NBA history?); and, most fittingly, Lendeborg’s soon-to-be teammate on the Warriors, Jimmy Butler (who is arguably the best of them all, having led multiple low-seeded teams to the NBA Finals in his career as a certified All-Star, and who was once homeless as a teenager before getting his life on track). Right now, Lendeborg is on a trajectory to be the next in that lineage.
Before joining the Warriors this summer—where he has absolutely transcended the competition en route to winning the NBA Summer League championship and being named Most Valuable Player of that tournament in Las Vegas (which takes places every year as a showcase for the NBA’s newest additions and developing players)—Lendeborg continued his amateur ascent elsewhere. He transferred to the University of Alabama, Birmingham, from 2023 to 2025, where he garnered recognition as the American Athletic Conference Defensive Player of the Year. Then, he made the biggest leap by joining the University of Michigan as a fifth year senior for one season, where he established himself as one of the country’s best players and won an NCAA National Championship and conference player of the year while delivering the school its best-ever record of 37 wins.
The Warriors are no strangers to finding diamonds in the rough, including a babyfaced Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green, none of whom were expected to become Hall of Fame ballers and were selected relatively late in their respective NBA Draft classes. The team highly valued Lendeborg’s intangibles, scooping him up with their top pick in this summer’s draft. Surrounded by such longtime veterans as the aforementioned Curry and Green, Lendeborg is, on paper, about as ideal a fit for this Golden State unit that fans could hope for with any incoming hooper.
On the court, Lendeborg’s style is visibly forceful and unwavering. He’s a 6 foot 9, 241 pounder who will attack near the rim, fight for rebounds, and keep his motor churning until the job is finished. His skillset was on display at the NBA Summer League, where he outmuscled his peers and dominating in the paint, where the Warriors have historically lacked force, opting instead for the silky finesse and long range expertise of Curry over the past decade-plus, and generally lacking the size and interior presence that is required of a championship-caliber roster.
In his first ever NBA preseason debut at the California Classic, Lendeborg didn’t miss. Literally. He made all of his shot attempts from every spot on the court, bullying his way to an average of 14.9 points per game in his cumulative appearances for the blue-and-golders by the Bay.
Of course, Lendeborg likely won’t make the same immediate impact once the regular season or playoffs (NBA gods permitting) begin, as very few first year players do. But with the aid of Curry, Green, Butler, and a deep cast of other vets in the locker room, Lendeborg will have plenty of opportunities to grow, adapt, and implement his own game into the Warriors system.
Until then, his personal history and background can assure Warriors fans: no matter the odds, he’s built to lace up and clock in for work. Who among us can’t cheer for that?
