It's no secret that Yaxel Lendeborg is setting the NBA world ablaze, but somehow, since the last time we wrote about him, the rookie has managed to outdo himself.

Lendeborg has played a significant role in helping the Golden State Warriors come back from the dead after a 0-3 start, but in their most recent win against the Los Angeles Clippers, he was the key cog. In 34 minutes, and with both Stephen Curry and Draymond Green out of the lineup, Lenderborg had a game-high 37 points on 85.5 percent true shooting. He also added six assists, four rebounds, and a steal for good measure.

The Warriors were excited to draft Lendeborg with the 11th overall pick in the 2026 NBA Draft, but even they couldn't have expected this. Now, there are a handful of teams kicking themselves for not picking him when they had the chance. Here are three of them.

Atlanta Hawks

After earning the sixth seed and winning more playoff games against the eventual NBA Champion than any other team in the field, the Atlanta Hawks are in clear win-now mode. Heading into the offseason, it was clear that they couldn't keep leaning on CJ McCollum forever, and that the Hawks needed to add some ball handling and shot creation.

At the time, it made sense to go grab Kingston Flemings, who has had some nice flashes in his early sample. However, Lendeborg is six inches taller than Flemings, which fits the Hawks lanky identity. And so far, he's proven to be just as good of a bucket-getter, if not better. There's still a real chance that Flemings turns into the better offensive player, but for a team with playoff aspirations right now, you can't say it wouldn't be nice having Lendeborg in the mix.

Dallas Mavericks

Cooper Flagg is HOOPING. Through five games (he missed one, which the Dallas Mavericks lost), Flagg is averaging 26.8 points, 6.0 rebounds, 6.6 assists, 2.6 steals and 1.2 blocks per game on 65.1 percent true shooting. As a result, the Mavericks and 4-2, and far ahead of their original timeline.

Obviously, the Mavericks couldn't have known this when they selected Morez Johnson Jr. just two spots before Lendeborg was taken. But given how quickly things are progressing, you have to imagine that the Mavericks and head coach Dusty May would have preferred the Wolverine who was ready to win right now. I still love Johnson long-term, but the Flagg era is now officially underway, and you want to make sure you maximize it to its fullest. This version of Lendeborg certiantly would have done that.

Oklahoma City Thunder

The Oklahoma City Thunder had the pick after the Warriors, which they used to take his former frontcourt mate, Aday Mara. So, they technically did not have the chance to pass on Lendeborg. However, we saw a few picks later when they traded up to get Bennett Stirtz that the Thunder were willing to sacrifice assets to get a guy they believed in.

The theory behind drafting Mara was simple. He's a giant rim protector with some passing skill that could replace Isaiah Hartenstein whenever the southpaw aged out of his prime or became too expensive for the team to retain. Mara has been great for the Thunder thus far. However, with a serious of unforseen injuries to Chet Holmgren, Jalen Williams, and Cason Wallace, the Thunder now desperately need wings/forwards to shoulder the usage void left by their absence.

Lendeborg would have been the perfect replacement for these guys. Too bad general manager Sam Presti didn't pull the trigger on another draft day trade.