There's no secret that Joe Lacob has a desire to find the next star to take the Golden State Warriors forward beyond 38-year-old Stephen Curry. It's part of the reason why the franchise owner held former lottery picks Jonathan Kuminga and James Wiseman in such high regard.
It's also why Yaxel Lendeborg may have been such an internally debated selection at the 11th overall pick last month, with the 23-year-old's advanced age naturally causing concerns over his upside in the league.
Yet Lendeborg proved he could be the answer to the Warriors' (and more specifically Lacob's) wish for another star after Curry, taking over in the clutch to lift the franchise to it's first Summer League Championship in 13 years on Sunday against the Memphis Grizzlies.
Yaxel Lendeborg proves he may have star upside for the Warriors
The 6'9" forward was fine through the first 3.5 quarters, recording 14 points in another head-to-head battle with third overall pick Cam Boozer. But "fine" is the word to describe it -- he was good without being overly dominant.
That shifted down the stretch as Lendeborg took control with his team on the ropes. From down three with less than three minutes remaining, Lendeborg scored seven-straight points to flip the momentum and give Golden State a four-point lead.
One of his buckets was a tough step-back three which proved Lendeborg may have the shot-making of someone who projects as more than a role player, and so too the mid-range pull-up jumper he made shortly after.
Lendeborg took over down the stretch in a way that stars tend to do, taking on the challenge and executing in a way that Boozer failed to do as the 19-year-old missed all three of his field-goal attempts in the final minute.
Yaxel Lendeborg has star upside people are ignoring
Lendeborg clearly has immense self-belief and won't be putting a limit on his NBA potential, but also has enough self-awareness to understand that he's going to enter the Golden State rotation as a role player behind Curry.
Yet the Warriors are also desperate for another star to support Curry toward the end of his career, and to brighten the future for the next generation beyond the two-time MVP. Throughout summer league, Lendeborg not only displayed the kind of two-way skillset that suggests he actually has star-level upside, but also the mentality when the championship was on the line on Sunday to reflect such potential.
Lendeborg was seen externally as an obvious pick given the Warriors' veteran team, but summer league showed he still holds star upside that shouldn't be ignored entering his rookie year.
Add us as a preferred source on Google