SAN FRANCISCO — The team that acknowledged it needs “a little bit of everything” decided to opt for a pro-ready player with its first-round pick on Tuesday evening.
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Warriors general manager Mike Dunleavy took Michigan forward Yaxel Lendeborg with the No. 11 pick.
“(I’m feeling) all of the emotions,” a tearful Lendeborg said on the ESPN broadcast. “I can’t believe it.”
Lendeborg, 23, was the Big Ten player of the year and leader of Michigan’s national championship-winning team. He is also represented by Octagon, the same sports agency that represents Steph Curry.
Called the “Dominican LeBron James” by his Michigan teammates, Lendeborg averaged 15.1 points, 6.8 rebounds and 3.2 assists for the Wolverines.
Lendeborg was the second of three Wolverines to go in the span of four picks. Morez Johnson Jr. went to Dallas, led by former Michigan coach Dusty May, at No. 9. The Thunder selected 7-3 center Aday Mara with the No. 12 pick.
He can play both forward spots, and the Warriors could ask him to play on the wing while Jimmy Butler and Moses Moody recover from knee injuries.
Lendeborg’s ceiling is not considered to be as high as some of the younger prospects in the class. The forward will be 24 by the time training camp begins in late September, but he told media that he believes he has room to improve.
“I really don’t like the word ‘upside,’” Lendeborg said after his predraft workout at Chase Center two weeks ago. “But if we want to use that word, I think I have the same amount as anybody else here.”
In the immediate future, Lendeborg is already a high-quality rebounder and a willing defender who was twice the American Athletic Conference’s Defensive Player of the Year at Alabama-Birmingham.
Lendeborg’s NBA ceiling will be determined by his shooting stroke continuing to develop. He shot 37.2% from behind the college line at Michigan, and he shot a healthy 82.4% from the free-throw line. Lendeborg was lauded for his passing ability, and should fit into the Warriors’ pass-and-cut sets.
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Lendeborg, from Pennsauken, New Jersey, played three seasons for Arizona Western Junior College before attending UAB for two seasons. He then went on to dominate at Michigan as a 6-foot-9 forward.
It was the highest pick the Warriors had in the draft since choosing Jonathan Kuminga No. 7 overall in 2021. Their first selection was in the second round the previous two years. Barring a trade, the Warriors pick again at No. 54 (24th pick of the second round) on Wednesday.
Golden State entered the draft lottery after going 37-45 during the regular season and bowing out in the play-in tournament.
Warriors coach Steve Kerr, who re-signed with the team in May, has already promised that Lendeborg will enjoy a featured role in a rotation that desperately needs an infusion of youth.
“That guy has to play,” Kerr said last month. “He’s got to earn it, but we’re committed to absolutely, you know, the development of our young players and trying to do this thing in a way that allows for, you know, success down the road.”
LOCALS DRAFTED
On the local front, Stanford’s Ebuka Okorie was selected 17th overall by Oklahoma City, but his draft rights were reportedly immediately traded to the Detroit Pistons. Two picks later, Santa Clara’s Allen Graves was selected by the Toronto Raptors.
Former Saint Mary’s forward Joshua Jefferson was selected 28th overall in the first round by Minnesota before his rights were traded to Brooklyn. The 6-foot-9 Jefferson, who transferred to Iowa State after two years in Moraga, is considered a plug-and-play contributor off the bench.
Okorie is Stanford’s 14th first-round pick in program history. He is the highest Cardinal player selected since Ziaire Williams went 10th overall in the 2021 NBA Draft. Okorie gives Stanford an entry to the NBA for the third consecutive season, along with Maxime Raynaud (Sacramento Kings, 2025) and Spencer Jones (Denver Nuggets, 2024).
Allen is the third Bronco selected in the first round in the past five years, joining Jalen Williams (Oklahoma City) and Brandin Podziemski (Warriors). Williams went 12th overall, and Podziemski also was a 19th overall selection.
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