Yaxel Lendeborg, Michigan - 2026 NBA Draft - Lottery pick

[CptCrunch]

I'm not hating on Yaxel here as I make another post. He is legitimately very good right now in college.

Just an example to call out on the concept of acclimation. Would be Deni Avdija. When you get enough chances in an environment, players will develop to their potential. Deni is example of this. Wizards got clowned for picking Deni, but look at him after 6 years, an all star putting up like 24/7/7.

My argument here is that many players (some countable set not everyone perhaps a few dozen if you give all college players 6 years of chances) will be succeeding like Yaxel if they got 6 years in college

There is ZERO doubt that Yaxel benefited from his age and experience, and that helped him dominate college basketball the way he did. That’s why no one with sense is projecting him as a future All-Star, because guys who do what he did at young ages are super rare, you know, like Boozer and Dybantsa. Yaxel was second in OBPM and fourth in DBPM nationally. That’s ridiculous.

And yes, there are guys well below that level that can do something like Yaxel did if they had six years to do it. But we’re not sure which guys those are, which is why Lendeborg is a nice, relatively safe bet to be a solid NBA player. Guys with his talent don’t usually take this path.

All this Knecht and the like stuff really pisses me off. Knecht was SEC player of the year shooting 458/397/772. 1.3 stocks, 5 boards, under 2 assists playing over 30 minutes a game. He was a shooter, and not even a particularly remarkable one. Decent size, good athletic testing that doesn’t really translate to anything in the floor. Absolutely nothing like Yaxel except kinda old. BPM of 11.3 to Yaxel’s 16.7. Barely 1:1 A/TO ratio, while Yaxel is nearly 3:1.

Whatever. This guy is a solid as they come. If you can’t see it, you can’t see it.

You are putting up an argument against Yaxel with Knecht. 11.3 isn't that materially different from 16.7 when both are elite. Plus Yaxel's fifth year BPM was 11.2 which is actually the same as Dalton's 5th year BPM.

DK failed because he couldn't improve one bit in the league. Peaked physically and development wise, a very real scenario for Yaxel. Yaxel needs to come in and become an immediate 3 and D player within 20 games or else he will just bust hard.

If Yaxel fails this year, no one will ever give these JUCO into NCAA super senior a chance ever again.

[tmorgan]

I'm not hating on Yaxel here as I make another post. He is legitimately very good right now in college.

Just an example to call out on the concept of acclimation. Would be Deni Avdija. When you get enough chances in an environment, players will develop to their potential. Deni is example of this. Wizards got clowned for picking Deni, but look at him after 6 years, an all star putting up like 24/7/7.

My argument here is that many players (some countable set not everyone perhaps a few dozen if you give all college players 6 years of chances) will be succeeding like Yaxel if they got 6 years in college

There is ZERO doubt that Yaxel benefited from his age and experience, and that helped him dominate college basketball the way he did. That’s why no one with sense is projecting him as a future All-Star, because guys who do what he did at young ages are super rare, you know, like Boozer and Dybantsa. Yaxel was second in OBPM and fourth in DBPM nationally. That’s ridiculous.

And yes, there are guys well below that level that can do something like Yaxel did if they had six years to do it. But we’re not sure which guys those are, which is why Lendeborg is a nice, relatively safe bet to be a solid NBA player. Guys with his talent don’t usually take this path.

All this Knecht and the like stuff really pisses me off. Knecht was SEC player of the year shooting 458/397/772. 1.3 stocks, 5 boards, under 2 assists playing over 30 minutes a game. He was a shooter, and not even a particularly remarkable one. Decent size, good athletic testing that doesn’t really translate to anything in the floor. Absolutely nothing like Yaxel except kinda old. BPM of 11.3 to Yaxel’s 16.7. Barely 1:1 A/TO ratio, while Yaxel is nearly 3:1.

Whatever. This guy is a solid as they come. If you can’t see it, you can’t see it.

You are putting up an argument against Yaxel with Knecht. 11.3 isn't that materially different from 16.7 when both are elite. Plus Yaxel's fifth year BPM was 11.2 which is actually the same as Dalton's 5th year BPM.

DK failed because he couldn't improve one bit in the league. Peaked physically and development wise, a very real scenario for Yaxel. Yaxel needs to come in and become an immediate 3 and D player within 20 games or else he will just bust hard.

If Yaxel fails this year, no one will ever give these JUCO into NCAA super senior a chance ever again.

Nonsense. Knecht played as a one-dimensional shooter who wasn’t even elite at that. Weak playmaking. Weak defense. Some pretty good athletic tools he didn’t do anything with. Once he got to the league, got scouted and could no longer get his shot, he became a guy whose sole purpose on the floor was to keep one defender near him to make sure he was useless, all while mostly not defending, moving the ball, or doing anything else useful.

If you think that’s the skillset Lendeborg brings, I can see why you think he’ll fail.

If you think that’s the skillset Lendeborg brings, you also do all your thinking without watching him play.

He could fail, sure. I would say that about all but maybe four, or if you want to be generous, six, guys in this draft. So what?

What I do know, is if Yaxel does succeed, you’re going to dig up those goalposts like you always do to keep your internal spotless record intact.

[theBigLip]

There is ZERO doubt that Yaxel benefited from his age and experience, and that helped him dominate college basketball the way he did. That’s why no one with sense is projecting him as a future All-Star, because guys who do what he did at young ages are super rare, you know, like Boozer and Dybantsa. Yaxel was second in OBPM and fourth in DBPM nationally. That’s ridiculous.

And yes, there are guys well below that level that can do something like Yaxel did if they had six years to do it. But we’re not sure which guys those are, which is why Lendeborg is a nice, relatively safe bet to be a solid NBA player. Guys with his talent don’t usually take this path.

All this Knecht and the like stuff really pisses me off. Knecht was SEC player of the year shooting 458/397/772. 1.3 stocks, 5 boards, under 2 assists playing over 30 minutes a game. He was a shooter, and not even a particularly remarkable one. Decent size, good athletic testing that doesn’t really translate to anything in the floor. Absolutely nothing like Yaxel except kinda old. BPM of 11.3 to Yaxel’s 16.7. Barely 1:1 A/TO ratio, while Yaxel is nearly 3:1.

Whatever. This guy is a solid as they come. If you can’t see it, you can’t see it.

You are putting up an argument against Yaxel with Knecht. 11.3 isn't that materially different from 16.7 when both are elite. Plus Yaxel's fifth year BPM was 11.2 which is actually the same as Dalton's 5th year BPM.

DK failed because he couldn't improve one bit in the league. Peaked physically and development wise, a very real scenario for Yaxel. Yaxel needs to come in and become an immediate 3 and D player within 20 games or else he will just bust hard.

If Yaxel fails this year, no one will ever give these JUCO into NCAA super senior a chance ever again.

Nonsense. Knecht played as a one-dimensional shooter who wasn’t even elite at that. Weak playmaking. Weak defense. Some pretty good athletic tools he didn’t do anything with. Once he got to the league, got scouted and could no longer get his shot, he became a guy whose sole purpose on the floor was to keep one defender near him to make sure he was useless, all while mostly not defending, moving the ball, or doing anything else useful.

If you think that’s the skillset Lendeborg brings, I can see why you think he’ll fail.

If you think that’s the skillset Lendeborg brings, you also do all your thinking without watching him play.

He could fail, sure. I would say that about all but maybe four, or if you want to be generous, six, guys in this draft. So what?

What I do know, is if Yaxel does succeed, you’re going to dig up those goalposts like you always do to keep your internal spotless record intact.

Duncan Robinson played at a small school (although not a JUCO). If they move to a bigger school, those are legit results.

[Warspite]

Depending on the team taking a player with a higher floor is much more preferrable to a player with a lower floor and a higher ceiling.

Teams stay in the lottery year after year because they draft players based on highest ceiling when they know themselves, they can't develop potential anyway.

With NIL money moving forward you are going to see more Yaxels being drafted and drafted higher because there are just so many 19 yr old kids to draft. To be honest a smart GM might start looking to go this route in the draft. Let the Big10 and ACC develop your players for you and then draft them 2 yrs later, so you don't have to pay them that 2nd contract before they are 25. My biggest issue with the 19yr old rule is that most of these kids that turn into stars will still.

[CptCrunch]

There is ZERO doubt that Yaxel benefited from his age and experience, and that helped him dominate college basketball the way he did. That’s why no one with sense is projecting him as a future All-Star, because guys who do what he did at young ages are super rare, you know, like Boozer and Dybantsa. Yaxel was second in OBPM and fourth in DBPM nationally. That’s ridiculous.

And yes, there are guys well below that level that can do something like Yaxel did if they had six years to do it. But we’re not sure which guys those are, which is why Lendeborg is a nice, relatively safe bet to be a solid NBA player. Guys with his talent don’t usually take this path.

All this Knecht and the like stuff really pisses me off. Knecht was SEC player of the year shooting 458/397/772. 1.3 stocks, 5 boards, under 2 assists playing over 30 minutes a game. He was a shooter, and not even a particularly remarkable one. Decent size, good athletic testing that doesn’t really translate to anything in the floor. Absolutely nothing like Yaxel except kinda old. BPM of 11.3 to Yaxel’s 16.7. Barely 1:1 A/TO ratio, while Yaxel is nearly 3:1.

Whatever. This guy is a solid as they come. If you can’t see it, you can’t see it.

You are putting up an argument against Yaxel with Knecht. 11.3 isn't that materially different from 16.7 when both are elite. Plus Yaxel's fifth year BPM was 11.2 which is actually the same as Dalton's 5th year BPM.

DK failed because he couldn't improve one bit in the league. Peaked physically and development wise, a very real scenario for Yaxel. Yaxel needs to come in and become an immediate 3 and D player within 20 games or else he will just bust hard.

If Yaxel fails this year, no one will ever give these JUCO into NCAA super senior a chance ever again.

Nonsense. Knecht played as a one-dimensional shooter who wasn’t even elite at that. Weak playmaking. Weak defense. Some pretty good athletic tools he didn’t do anything with. Once he got to the league, got scouted and could no longer get his shot, he became a guy whose sole purpose on the floor was to keep one defender near him to make sure he was useless, all while mostly not defending, moving the ball, or doing anything else useful.

If you think that’s the skillset Lendeborg brings, I can see why you think he’ll fail.

If you think that’s the skillset Lendeborg brings, you also do all your thinking without watching him play.

He could fail, sure. I would say that about all but maybe four, or if you want to be generous, six, guys in this draft. So what?

What I do know, is if Yaxel does succeed, you’re going to dig up those goalposts like you always do to keep your internal spotless record intact.

Keep coping, my record is far better than yours. All my big boards on the mock draft forum. You can literally go look at them. There are few posters with better track record over the past 5 years than me, and that's a fact. So if you want to start personal attacks, go look at yourself in the mirror first.

The difference between me and hyper casual is that my takes are based on stats, facts, not feels or vibes.

[tmorgan]

You are putting up an argument against Yaxel with Knecht. 11.3 isn't that materially different from 16.7 when both are elite. Plus Yaxel's fifth year BPM was 11.2 which is actually the same as Dalton's 5th year BPM.

DK failed because he couldn't improve one bit in the league. Peaked physically and development wise, a very real scenario for Yaxel. Yaxel needs to come in and become an immediate 3 and D player within 20 games or else he will just bust hard.

If Yaxel fails this year, no one will ever give these JUCO into NCAA super senior a chance ever again.

Nonsense. Knecht played as a one-dimensional shooter who wasn’t even elite at that. Weak playmaking. Weak defense. Some pretty good athletic tools he didn’t do anything with. Once he got to the league, got scouted and could no longer get his shot, he became a guy whose sole purpose on the floor was to keep one defender near him to make sure he was useless, all while mostly not defending, moving the ball, or doing anything else useful.

If you think that’s the skillset Lendeborg brings, I can see why you think he’ll fail.

If you think that’s the skillset Lendeborg brings, you also do all your thinking without watching him play.

He could fail, sure. I would say that about all but maybe four, or if you want to be generous, six, guys in this draft. So what?

What I do know, is if Yaxel does succeed, you’re going to dig up those goalposts like you always do to keep your internal spotless record intact.

Keep coping, my record is far better than yours. All my big boards on the mock draft forum. You can literally go look at them. There are few posters with better track record over the past 5 years than me, and that's a fact. So if you want to start personal attacks, go look at yourself in the mirror first.

The difference between me and hyper casual is that my takes are based on stats, facts, not feels or vibes.

I don’t post mocks. I don’t claim to have a wide breadth of knowledge. And clearly, my self-worth isn’t as tied up in these boards as yours is.

But I do know my guys. Michigan guys. Pistons guys. And you are laughably wrong on many of them.

No cope needed, you strange little person.

[dcstanley]

You are putting up an argument against Yaxel with Knecht. 11.3 isn't that materially different from 16.7 when both are elite. Plus Yaxel's fifth year BPM was 11.2 which is actually the same as Dalton's 5th year BPM.

DK failed because he couldn't improve one bit in the league. Peaked physically and development wise, a very real scenario for Yaxel. Yaxel needs to come in and become an immediate 3 and D player within 20 games or else he will just bust hard.

If Yaxel fails this year, no one will ever give these JUCO into NCAA super senior a chance ever again.

Nonsense. Knecht played as a one-dimensional shooter who wasn’t even elite at that. Weak playmaking. Weak defense. Some pretty good athletic tools he didn’t do anything with. Once he got to the league, got scouted and could no longer get his shot, he became a guy whose sole purpose on the floor was to keep one defender near him to make sure he was useless, all while mostly not defending, moving the ball, or doing anything else useful.

If you think that’s the skillset Lendeborg brings, I can see why you think he’ll fail.

If you think that’s the skillset Lendeborg brings, you also do all your thinking without watching him play.

He could fail, sure. I would say that about all but maybe four, or if you want to be generous, six, guys in this draft. So what?

What I do know, is if Yaxel does succeed, you’re going to dig up those goalposts like you always do to keep your internal spotless record intact.

Keep coping, my record is far better than yours. All my big boards on the mock draft forum. You can literally go look at them. There are few posters with better track record over the past 5 years than me, and that's a fact. So if you want to start personal attacks, go look at yourself in the mirror first.

The difference between me and hyper casual is that my takes are based on stats, facts, not feels or vibes.

Link to your record? I'm curious to see. I just remember people claiming you called Cade a bust.

[JMAC3]

Starting to hear some rumblings about his workouts not being great and him potentially falling outside of lottery.

[ReggiesKnicks]

Starting to hear some rumblings about his workouts not being great and him potentially falling outside of lottery.

I never really considered him to be in the Lottery. Very rare for players his age to be in the Lottery.

[Chuck Everett]

Starting to hear some rumblings about his workouts not being great and him potentially falling outside of lottery.

I never really considered him to be in the Lottery. Very rare for players his age to be in the Lottery.

Could be his immaturity really seeping out (which isn't a good thing considering he's 24 year old).

[Caneman786]

Starting to hear some rumblings about his workouts not being great and him potentially falling outside of lottery.

Where are you hearing this from?

[JMAC3]

Starting to hear some rumblings about his workouts not being great and him potentially falling outside of lottery.

Where are you hearing this from?

A few places I have seen it on twitter, draft podcasts etc..
He wasn't in the first group of green room invites, despite arm chair gms saying he should go top 5-8 sometimes.

There is more going on here and I have seen guys like Vecenie bite there tongue on him on multiple occasions.

[GoBobs]

Lots of smoke this time of year. I think he is a good interview. He looks pretty confident answering questions at the end of his warriors workout.

Watch on YouTube

[Notanoob]

It's hard for me to see him not being a useful player on a winning team. With his body, athleticism and effort he's the ideal sort of guy to guard big wings like LeBron or Kawahi, and he's already proven he can slide to the 5. Add in he's got a solid track record as a shooter, and even if you think his handle isn't good enough, or the playmaking won't translate since he won't have a big age advantage, you can bare minimum stick him out there to space the floor and guard people. Down the stretch he was regularly being put on opposing teams' best perimeter players and staying in front of them, how many guys out there can do that and guard the rim well too? People are overthinking this IMO. Should be a lottery pick for his floor.

[Cammo101]

Starting to hear some rumblings about his workouts not being great and him potentially falling outside of lottery.

Where are you hearing this from?

A few places I have seen it on twitter, draft podcasts etc..
He wasn't in the first group of green room invites, despite arm chair gms saying he should go top 5-8 sometimes.

There is more going on here and I have seen guys like Vecenie bite there tongue on him on multiple occasions.

I think GSW at pick #11 is the first real spot he could land. Not sure he falls out of the lottery, but it wouldn't be a huge surprise.

[JMAC3]

Where are you hearing this from?

A few places I have seen it on twitter, draft podcasts etc..
He wasn't in the first group of green room invites, despite arm chair gms saying he should go top 5-8 sometimes.

There is more going on here and I have seen guys like Vecenie bite there tongue on him on multiple occasions.

I think GSW at pick #11 is the first real spot he could land. Not sure he falls out of the lottery, but it wouldn't be a huge surprise.

I hope some team takes him top 10, push the younger more talented guys down the board.

[vincecarter4pres]

Does he remind anyone else of Danny Granger?

[tmorgan]

I do find it odd the Dubs took him at 11, but he’s going to contribute right away.

I guess they just aren’t going to think long term as long as Steph, Dray and Kerr are around.

Even though I’m not super high on him, seems like a passing big like Mara would have been a better gamble. Yaxel could improbably win RotY and that team still isn’t winning more than one playoff series.

[Upperclass]

Perfect Dubs player.. mature, plays a Draymond-esque game while being much taller and more athletic.. can shoot.. pass. They finally made a smart draft pick after multiple years of awful ones.

[jman3134]

They have made some solid picks - Gui Santos being another good one. Mara probably fit a little better, but Yaxel is the better player now.