Once upon a time, the Golden State Warriors had a vision. You probably know it as project "Two Timelines." The youngsters were supposed to support Stephen Curry and Draymond Green in the twilight of their careers, and when the time came, they would receive the torch and guide the franchise into its next era of winning.

Jonathan Kuminga sat at the forefront of this initiative. When the Warriors selected him with the No. 7 overall pick in the 2021 NBA Draft, Kuminga was supposed to be the kind of toolsy forward who could do all the dirty work for their aging core and then one day step in as an alpha dog when it was time for the legends to hang it up.

To his credit, Kuminga posted some monster scoring performances whenever the Warriors were shorthanded in recent years. This was most obvious instance came in the 2025 NBA playoffs, when Golden State spent most of its second-round series against the Minnesota Timberwolves without Curry. Unfortunately, Kuminga was never able to do the ancillary things the team needed of him, a big part of the reason why he's no longer in the Bay.

It's sad how things played out between Kuminga and the Warriors. However, everything happens for a reason. Kuminga seems to be happier on his new team (coincidentally, the aforementioned Timberwolves). And who knows: If Kuminga had worked out, the Warriors would have never ended up with their new star rookie, Yaxel Lendeborg.

Yaxel Lendeborg is exactly what the doctor ordered for the Warriors

This past draft, the Warriors found themselves in the lottery once again. This time, instead of going with the raw, upside prospect, they chose to select Yaxel Lendeborg — who, funny enough, is the same age as Kuminga is right now (he's actually six days older).

Old rookies get a bad reputation because they seem like a finished product without a ton more room to grow. But the Warriors know all too well that this is a logical fallacy; Green was already 22 when he entered the league, after all. And through six games, Lendeborg has been everything this team could have hoped for and more.

Lendeborg is putting up a veteran's stat line. Through six games, the former Michigan star is averaging 19.8 points, 7.8 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 1.3 stocks per game on 59.9 percent true shooting. According to Stathead, the only other players averaging over 19, seven and three on at least 58 percent true shooting so far are Giannis Antetokounmpo, Alperen Şengün, Deni Avdija and Karl-Anthony Towns. All are established veterans who have made All-Star teams before; Lendeborg is in this kind of company as a rookie.

After a 0-3 start to the season, the Warriors are starting to show some life. In their last three games, they've ripped off three straight wins against the Denver Nuggets, Minnesota Timberwolves and Los Angeles Lakers, all teams with playoff aspirations).

Friday night's group play win over the Lakers served as the most poetic full-circle moment yet for this bunch. After all, they played L.A. to start the season and were thoroughly dismantled by 22 points. The best era in franchise history seemed to be officially over. However, thanks in part to Lendeborg (who actually played the worst game of his young career thus far), the Warriors flipped the script with a 17-point win.

Golden State still has a little bit of fight left in them, like a wounded lion on its last legs, and a big reason why is Lendeborg is finally living up to the promise Kuminga was supposed to carry a half decade ago.