The Golden State Warriors' preseason is officially in the books after a victory over the Portland Trail Blazers on Friday night, with Yaxel Lendeborg staking his claim once more as a Rookie of the Year contender heading into the season proper starting next week.
Outside a quiet first outing in Hawaii against the L.A. Clippers, Lendeborg has been remarkably consistent and again showcased his efficient and versatile skillset against the Trail Blazers with another dominant performance.
Yaxel Lendeborg stakes final preseason claim as Rookie of the Year contender
Lendeborg finished with 17 points, four rebounds, five assists, two steals and a block in just under 26 minutes, once again shooting an efficient 6-of-9 from the floor and 2-of-3 from 3-point range as the Warriors claimed a 128-118 victory.
Not only has Lendeborg secured a starting role with his form through the preseason, but he's emerged as Golden State's second offensive option behind Stephen Curry while Jimmy Butler and Kristaps Porzingis remain out.
Speaking of Curry, the two-time MVP got going in the second-half to finish as the Warriors' leading scorer with 20 points to go with four rebounds and five assists, though he shot just 7-of-19 from the floor and 3-of-11 from beyond the arc.
Brandin Podziemski joined Lendeborg with 17 points as he got better as the game progressed, getting to the line on seven occassions and shooting 3-of-7 from 3-point range. Al Horford found his stroke in the final preseason hitout, going for 15 points on 5-of-8 from deep in 15 minutes off the bench.
Yaxel Lendeborg among loaded group of Rookie of the Year contenders
For as impressive as Lendeborg has been through preseason, and after winning MVP in summer league, he still won't necessarily be among the top three in favoritism entering the regular season.
His emerging rival Cam Boozer is viewed as an early favorite, particularly when he's likely to step in as the best and most important member of the Memphis Grizzlies. Fellow top four picks AJ Dybantsa, Darryn Peterson and Caleb Wilson are right there in the conversation, and Darius Acuff Jr. will have full license to run the offense in Sacramento.
Lendeborg clearly deserves to be in the top six conversation among those aforementioned players, and bookmaker odds would suggest there's a fair gap to the seventh player. The 11th overall pick will now prepare for his first career game against the Los Angeles Lakers on Wednesday, and he'll enter having done everything fans wanted to see to this point after being selected by the Warriors in June's NBA Draft.
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