Yaxel Lendeborg joins rare NBA history as Warriors cling to lone bright spot

Yaxel Lendeborg is really the only major positive the Golden State Warriors can cling to right now, having suffered a third-straight loss to open the season with Saturday's 131-122 defeat to the Phoenix Suns.

Lendeborg continues to be the shining light though, making NBA history against the Suns by becoming the equal fastest player to record 50 points, 25 rebounds and 10 assists in their career.

Yaxel Lendeborg joins rare NBA history after career-high in Phoenix

The 11th overall pick delivered most of his production across Friday and Saturday's back-to-back. Lendeborg dropped 18 points, 13 rebounds and six assists (and three steals) against the Memphis Grizzlies on Friday, before going for 26 points, nine rebounds and five assists in the loss to the Suns.

The 24-year-old is already comfortably the second-best player on the team behind Stephen Curry, at least until Jimmy Butler returns from injury, and even then there's no guarantee the 37-year-old returns at a level that's higher than what Lendeborg is producing.

It's also a little sad that Golden State are asking so much of Lendeborg early in his career, but that shouldn't diminish from his impressive production that's already making him an early Rookie of the Year contender.

It's Lendeborg's versatility that really jumps off the page and should have Warrior fans hoping that he can become a legitimate star in the league. His size, strength and athleticism means he often overpowers a lot of players in the paint, and more importantly he actually has the ball-handling to be able to get there.

Then it was his shooting on display in Phoenix, going 6-of-11 from beyond the arc after only seven attempts through his first two games. He clearly has very good passing feel and vision, both in transition and as a pick-and-roll ball-handler. Throw in the rebounding element and there's very little Lendeborg can't do on the floor.

Yaxel Lendeborg still significant improvement in his game

This isn't to say Lendeborg is perfect, and optimism should only grow at the fact he still has significant strides to make. That's particularly the case on the defensive end where head coach Steve Kerr was quite critical following Golden State's 131-122 defeat in Phoenix.

"His weak-side awareness right now is very poor. And with his size, he should be one of our best defenders at the rim. And right now, he's unaware on the weak-side," Kerr said.

Lendeborg does have the potential on that end of the floor though, evidenced by his block on a Devin Booker pull-up jump-shot late in the game. It's also hard to be overly critical when the Warriors are asking so much of him on both sides of the ball.

Because they're asking so much, expect Lendeborg to break more of these type of records as the season progresses and into what could be a Rookie of the Year campaign.

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