Yaxel Lendeborg Scores 37, the Most by a Warriors Rookie Since Stephen Curry's 42 in 2010
The Warriors rookie went 13 of 19 with six threes in a 124-112 win over the Clippers, the most by a Golden State rookie since Curry scored 42 in 2010, per the AP.
Photo: Official NBA headshot of Yaxel Lendeborg, Golden State Warriors, credit NBA.com.
Yaxel Lendeborg scored a career-high 37 points on 13-of-19 shooting, 6 of 11 from three, as the Golden State Warriors beat the LA Clippers 124-112 on Sunday night with Stephen Curry and Draymond Green resting. That is the most points by a Warriors rookie since Curry scored 42 at Portland on April 14, 2010, per the AP, and with two 30-point games in his first seven, Lendeborg joins Wilt Chamberlain and Rick Barry as the only Warriors to do that.
Golden State started 0-3 and has won four straight.
A rookie who was already 24
Lendeborg turned 24 on Sept. 30, per NBA.com, and came out of Michigan as the 11th pick in June. Golden State took a 6-foot-9, 247-pound forward ready to play next to Curry and Green right away, and he has started all seven games.
Curry and Green sat the front end of a back-to-back, per the AP, and the Suns come to Chase Center on Monday night.
How the 37 came together
He made 13 of 19 shots, six of them threes, and went and 5 of 6 at the line in 34 minutes, per the NBA.com box score. He added six assists, four rebounds and a steal against two turnovers, and he was plus-6.
Golden State had to come from behind to get there. The Clippers scored 37 in the first quarter and led by as many as 11, per the official scorer's report, and Kris Dunn finished with seven steals. Lendeborg turned it over twice all night.
Midway through the third quarter, Lendeborg scored five straight points to push the lead to 83-68, the biggest to that point, per the AP. The lead reached 22 before the night was done, per the official box. The bench helped carry the rest: Brandon Williams scored 17 and the reserves put up 40 in all, De'Anthony Melton added 21, and Brandin Podziemski finished with 17 points, eight rebounds and eight assists.
The Clippers got 24 from Rui Hachimura and 16 off the bench from Kobe Sanders, and lost their fifth straight to fall to 1-5.
Seven games, split by result
Lendeborg's game log, from NBA.com, RealGM and ESPN, splits cleanly along the 0-3 start and the 4-0 run.
| Date | Opponent | Result | Min | Pts | Reb | Ast | TO | FG | 3P | FT | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Oct. 21 | at Lakers | L 127-105 | 29 | 12 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 5-11 | 1-4 | 1-3 | | Oct. 23 | vs. Grizzlies | L 111-108 | 37 | 18 | 13 | 6 | 6 | 4-11 | 1-3 | 9-12 | | Oct. 24 | at Suns | L 131-122 | 36 | 26 | 9 | 5 | 2 | 9-19 | 6-11 | 2-3 | | Oct. 26 | at Nuggets | W 134-114 | 31 | 31 | 12 | 6 | 3 | 9-19 | 1-8 | 12-13 | | Oct. 28 | at Timberwolves | W 119-114 | 35 | 26 | 9 | 1 | 7 | 11-20 | 2-5 | 2-4 | | Oct. 30 | vs. Lakers | W 112-95 | 24 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 2-3 | 1-2 | 1-2 | | Nov. 1 | vs. Clippers | W 124-112 | 34 | 37 | 4 | 6 | 2 | 13-19 | 6-11 | 5-6 |
In the three losses he averaged 18.7 points on 18-of-41 shooting (43.9%). In the four wins he averaged 25.0 on 35-of-61 (57.4%), by our count from the log. That includes the 6-point night against the Lakers on Friday, when he fouled out in 24 minutes, per the AP.
Over all seven games he is at 22.3 points, 7.3 rebounds and 3.7 assists, per NBA.com, shooting 52.0% from the field and 18 of 44 from three (40.9%). He has 156 points in seven games.
Rebounds and turnovers
Lendeborg grabbed 46 rebounds in his first five games, 9.2 a night by our count, including 13 against Memphis and 12 at Denver. In the last two he has five total. One of those games was cut short by fouls, and he attempted 11 threes in the 37-point game.
He has 25 turnovers in seven games, 3.6 a night by our count, with seven at Minnesota and five against the Lakers, per the ESPN game log.
The Denver game was 31 points with one made three, built on 12-of-13 free throws, and the Clippers game was 37 with six threes.
Phoenix beat Golden State 131-122 on Oct. 24, when Lendeborg had 26, and the Suns visit Chase Center on Monday.
Sources:
- NBA.com box score, Clippers at Warriors, Nov. 1, 2026
- NBA official scorer's report, Clippers at Warriors, Nov. 1, 2026
- AP recap via ABC News, rookie Lendeborg scores career-high 37
- AP recap via ESPN, Warriors 124, Clippers 112
- NBA.com, Yaxel Lendeborg player page and season averages
- RealGM, Yaxel Lendeborg game log
- ESPN, Yaxel Lendeborg game log
Photo credit: Yaxel Lendeborg, NBA.com player page. Official NBA headshot of the Golden State Warriors rookie forward.
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