It took Yaxel Lendeborg exactly one NBA game to prove to the world he was going to be a great entertainer. It took him seven to inspire confidence in the Warriors’ short and long-term future with him in the fold.

Lendeborg’s instant impact for Golden State is both stunning and much-needed in equal measure. The 24-year-old wing locked up Luka Dončić (talking a massive amount of trash all the while) in his first game and scored 31 in his fourth. In his seventh, Lendeborg exploded for a 37-point barrage with superstar teammate Steph Curry watching from the sideline; in leading the Dubs to a win over the Clippers, the rook went 13-for-19 from the field and drained six three-pointers.

Lendeborg was so scalding he had the famously scorching Curry in genuine awe on the bench.

THIS STEPH REACTION TO YAXEL'S THREE FOR 37 POINTS 😲@Yaxel_Lendeborg scored the most points by a Warriors rookie in a single game since @StephenCurry30 in 2010 in last night's win! https://t.co/ukbKhR3C7c pic.twitter.com/hZLsNMxOQd

— NBA (@NBA) November 2, 2026

We haven’t seen that look on Curry’s face since Klay Thompson left town.

One night later, Lendeborg showed off the Warriors’ favorite trait—the ability to play winning basketball beyond the box score. In a big comeback win over the Suns, Lendeborg totaled a modest 16 points to go with five rebounds and five assists; his plus-minus was a brutal -11. But there’s no doubting his role in helping Golden State recover from a double-digit deficit. Lendeborg kept the offense afloat for a few short stretches when Curry was on the bench and made clutch plays down the stretch of the fourth, including an emphatic block on Jalen Green to keep the lead at five with under a minute to go. When the final whistle blew, Golden State had won five straight games for the first time since the 2024–25 season.

It’s dangerous to get too far over the skis when it comes to rookies—but Lendeborg’s instant impact makes it impossible not to get excited. It’s especially contagious when his superstar teammate jumps on the hype train. When asked what’s different about this season, Curry pointed to “Yax” first.

The Warriors didn't win five straight games once last season, and now they've won five in a row after starting 0-3. What's different with this group?

STEPH CURRY: "I mean, Yax. BP [Podziemski] taking another step forward." pic.twitter.com/gwisaMBYTF

— KNBR (@KNBR) November 3, 2026

If he proves to be the hit he looks like so far as a two-way wing with high scoring upside, what does that mean for the Warriors going forward?

Lendeborg’s early success will help Warriors stay afloat until Jimmy Butler returns

In the immediate sense, no matter how good he plays, Lendeborg doesn’t catapult the Dubs to contending status. It takes an extremely rare rookie to play a serious role on a championship team and such expectations are unreasonable for Lendeborg this early. More relevantly, he cannot fix Golden State’s primary issue of having exactly one playable center in Al Horford who is also over 40 years old. It’s on the front office to figure that out in tandem with the strange Kristaps Porziņģis situation. Until they do, it’s a fatal flaw that could sink their playoff hopes, much less any longshot title chances.

But what Lendeborg can do is help GSW tread water until Jimmy Butler comes back—without asking the world of Curry. The superstar point guard is still one of the game’s great scorers who can go out and win entirely on his own. But last year’s injury-riddled campaign showed the physical toll it takes on the 38-year-old to do so. The Warriors traded for Butler behind the idea that he could take the load off Curry’s shoulders and propel them to championship heights come playoff time. It was a good plan that fell apart when Butler tore his ACL in January.

Lendeborg now seems capable of filling in well enough for the time being as a big, physical wing who doesn’t compromise the defense while providing enough scoring to prevent everything from falling apart when Curry isn’t on the floor. The team at large seems to believe as such; even Brandin Podziemski compared Lendeborg to Butler after Monday night’s win. Golden State can now hold a realistic hope that Lendeborg’s production will be enough to keep the team’s record in O.K. shape through the first half of the season—and then Butler (hopefully) comes back at around the same level to give the roster two such wings to flank Curry.

The larger significance of Lendeborg’s emergence can be seen in the big picture, though.

The Warriors have hope for the future with Lendeborg in the fold

Lendeborg is the first rookie the Dubs have drafted in a long time who has shown true flashes of stardom. It makes for a much-needed dose of optimism regarding what the future may hold after Curry finally hangs them up.

Golden State whiffed badly on its two best opportunities to find a star for the post-Curry era in James Wiseman and Jonathan Kuminga; the infamous “two timeline” quote has become a punch line rather than a realistic depiction of the Dubs’ reality. Entering this season, it felt like only darkness lay ahead after Curry, which is part of the reason why the front office has so stringently refused to trade all possible draft picks for a win-now star. Some useful players have been added over the last few seasons but not a single one has shown anything to suggest they could reach face of the franchise status once that spot opens up.

Lendeborg is showing a glimpse of that potential. He won’t be Curry. Nobody will be, ever again. Lendeborg’s path to even earning an All-Star appearance in the coming seasons is fraught and filled with elite competition in the West. Expectations must be severely tempered at this stage.

But lighting up the scoreboard to drop 37 and earn a win with Curry on the bench is reason for excitement. Optimism. Hope. Feelings Warriors fans have rarely felt when thinking about life after Curry these past few seasons. Maybe Lendeborg plays so well the front office pushes all the chips into the middle for one big move. Maybe he can reach top-10 wing status in time to help Curry make one last realistic push for a title.

And maybe he doesn’t do any of that.

We have to wait and see what the future holds for Lendeborg. Yet for the first time in a long time, the Warriors are looking forward to seeing that future. That’s something.

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