The Golden State Warriors comfortably led all teams in 3-point attempts last season, and their new five-out approach was expected to make them even more reliant on perimeter shooting.
While that may still become the case, the early indications during preseason are that Yaxel Lendeborg's interior force is helping to change the Warriors’ offensive identity, just as Jimmy Butler did upon his arrival at the 2025 mid-season trade deadline.
Yaxel Lendeborg is making Warriors less reliant on 3-point shooting
Despite putting up no less than 50 3-point attempts against the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday night, the Warriors rank 22nd in attempts at 35.8 per game so far in preseason. That's over eight attempts less than the 44.1 they averaged last season, having led the league ahead of the Charlotte Hornets and Portland Trail Blazers.
Lendeborg may be the biggest reason behind the change through five preseason games. Perhaps it's also a factor of the opponents they've faced, but the 11th overall pick's ability to impose his physicality and will at the rim has been a notable and exciting element for Golden State.
The 24-year-old currently leads the Warriors in scoring during preseason at 15.3 points per game, while also ranking equal second behind Charles Bassey in field-goal percentage of any player to have attempted more than three shots.
While Lendeborg is already proving to be a solid to good 3-point shooter in his own right, only 15 of his 61 total points have come from beyond the 3-point line. His perimeter shooting was the highlight during summer league, but now it's his ability to go through players at the rim and finish with relative ease.
Yaxel Lendeborg has been handed Jimmy Butler's offensive role
After a quiet first preseason outing against the L.A. Clippers, Steve Kerr made a point of telling Lendeborg that he needs to be far more aggressive. Part of the reason for that is because without Butler, Golden State simply don't have another player who can provide this level of rim pressure and general presence in the paint.
Lendeborg has effectively been handed the Butler role as the Warriors' second go-to scorer -- a huge responsibility for a rookie, yet one that he's earned and that comes as a result of the absence of Butler and Kristaps Porzingis.
No one's arguing that Lendeborg will have the same level of impact Butler did pre-injury, but the early impressions in preseason -- through the eye test, Lendeborg's numbers and the team's 3-point shooting -- suggest the young forward is truly ready to make an instant mark.
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