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Warriors rookie Yaxel Lendeborg is making an impact on and off the court.
“Welcome home,” the Warriors rookie said to his mother, Yissel Raposo, leaving her in tears after he shared a video on his YouTube channel, presenting her with a new home.
“This one’s for Mama Yax,” the video’s title reads.
“There is no gesture big enough to properly say thank you for all the love, sacrifice, and support my mom has poured into me, but this moment was pretty special and one I’ll never forget. She deserves it all. For me, it’s bigger than basketball. It’s about making sure the people who believed in me get to enjoy the blessings too,” Lendeborg wrote in the video’s description.
Lendeborg presenting his mother with a house is the first video of his new vlog series that he will produce during the NBA season and will feature behind-the-scenes moments, his life on and off the court, and following his rookie year.
“Today is the first episode; I will be surprising my mom with a new house. On the move from Jersey to California,” Lendeborg says in the video.
Lendeborg says in the video that family members were telling her they were doing something else so that they could try to catch her off guard before he presented her with the keys to the home.
Lendeborg is joined by his mother and other family members while the series’ camera crew is following him. When his mother arrives at the home, he tells his mother, “On behalf of everybody who showed up, welcome home,” and then gives his mom the keys to the home.
The video shows Lendeborg welcoming his mother into the home.
During the video, Lendeborg says it took him “two-three months” to find the perfect home and was helped by one of his sisters.
At the end of the video, Lendeborg is seen calling his other two younger sisters, who were in disbelief that he actually bought the home.
“Shelly, he got the house in California! He got the house! In California!” Lendeborg’s younger sister says.
At the end of the video, Yaxel Lendeborg thanked the viewers for watching and said, “Hopefully you guys liked my first video.”
Yaxel grew up in a basketball household, as his parents grew up playing. Raposo played college basketball and volleyball at American University of Puerto Rico. His father, Okary Lendeborg, played for the Dominican National Team.
Yaxel grew up having a very close relationship with his mother. Okary told USA TODAY in March that Yaxel’s mother was his role model. She primarily raised him while Okary was at work most of the day in New Jersey.
In February, Yaxel detailed his relationship in an article in The Players Tribune, titled “How My Mom Saved My Life.” Yaxel spoke about how he was close to quitting basketball during his senior year of high school, due to grieving over his grandfather’s death.
Yaxel has delivered early during his rookie year. The Warriors are on a six-game win streak, and he’s been the second-hand man to future Hall of Famer Steph Curry.
Yaxel is averaging 31.8 minutes per game and has already had two 30-point games this season.