The Golden State Warriors earned their first win of the season in a difficult road contest against the Denver Nuggets. But it wasn't because of a nuclear Stephen Curry game. Instead, it was rookie yaxel Lendeborg who carried the Warriors to their first victory of the 2026-27 campaign.
Lendeborg finished Monday night's contest with 31 points, 12 rebounds, six assists, and one blocked shot in 31 minutes of play for the Warriors. He was a +27 in the 20-point win. Stephen Curry finished a +7, so the Warriors were able to find success with him on the bench.
The Ringer's Bill Simmons reacted to the breakout game by Yaxel Lendeborg and compared him to one of the best players of all time.
“Yaxel might have single-handedly saved the Steph era, like for real,” Simmons said on his podcast. “I can't tell you how good he was in this Denver game last night. I watched the entire game. Yaxel looked like mid-2010s LeBron [James] in this game. I don't say that lightly, because mid-2010s LeBron was awesome. He was doing it. They were running the offense through him. He was all over the place on defense. He was rebounding. He was initiating stuff. He was getting to the basket. It was unbelievable. I couldn't believe it. I couldn't believe how good he was.”
The Warriors started the season losing three straight games with a strong Nuggets team at home ready to capitalize on Golden State's early-season struggles. But Lendeborg saved the day.
“I was convinced before last night that this was one of the five worst teams in the league and maybe one of the three worst. And the moment Steph got hurt, this was going to be beyond grim. I don't know what this team does long-term, because they have Draymond at $27 million expiring. They have whatever's going on with Porzingis at $20 million and could put those two together for something if they wanted. And I keep looking at Sabonis in Sacramento and wondering if they flip those two for Sabonis. Could this team get really interesting when Butler comes back? I was done with them. Yaxel sucked me back in.”
Article Continues Below“Yaxel [Lendeborg] might have single-handedly saved the Steph era.”
“Yaxel looked like mid-2010s LeBron.”@BillSimmons can’t believe how good the Warriors rookie has looked so far to start the season and wonders whether it’s revitalized Golden State. pic.twitter.com/t0Sh0LajXh
— The Ringer (@ringer) October 28, 2026
Curry was great in the contest as well, finishing with 24 points, three rebounds, and three assists on a perfect 8-of-8 shooting from the field.
The Warriors will take on the Minnesota Timberwolves as part of a mini-road trip before returning home to take on the Los Angeles Lakers.