It didn't take long for Golden State Warriors rookie Yaxel Lendeborg to take issue with the way certain NBA players go about their business. He called out Los Angeles Lakers star Luka Doncic after his first regular season game for whining and complaining about calls to the refs, but it seems he's quickly found out that drawing fouls and getting to the line is a key part of the game.
Lendeborg had a great game on Monday night against the Denver Nuggets. He scored 31 points and got to the free-throw line repeatedly, making 12 of his 13 attempts. That ability to get to the line and score in different ways is exactly what the Warriors need from him especially with Jimmy Butler out. Head coach Steve Kerr made that exact point following the victory.
The rookie is also taking notes from other stars. Lendeborg spoke about how he was watching whatNuggets star Nikola Jokic was doing on Monday night, specifically how he is able to draw contact on certain plays and get calls from the refs.
That shows that Lendeborg is not some cocky rookie coming into the NBA who thinks he's better than all the stars. He's willing to publicly call out one star in Doncic, and then just a week later he's willing to compliment and say that he's trying to learn from another in Jokic. He's clearly just a guy who speaks his mind and doesn't have much of a filter which is refreshing to see.
Lendeborg's candor is a breath of fresh air for Warriors
Most players, especially younger ones who have been trained to give the most boring answers possible at the podium, try to avoid controversy in their remarks. Lendeborg is not going to shy away from controversy ever, which is why he figures to be the most interesting player to follow this season for Golden State.
With pretty much everyone else on the team, it isn't that hard to predict what the Warriors are going to get from them. Lendeborg is the main shiny new toy whose ceiling is not yet known. He himself may not even know the heights he can reach just yet.
That doesn't mean he's on his way to an MVP or anything like that. He will have bad nights and he will struggle like all rookies do, but the fact that he's already learning and is willing to do whatever it takes to win, even if it means drawing fouls, is really encouraging and speaks to the type of player he is.
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