Former Arizona Western star Yaxel Lendeborg goes No. 11 to Warriors

Yaxel Lendeborg’s climb from Arizona Western to the NBA reached its peak when the Golden State Warriors took him with the No. 11 overall pick in the 2026 draft at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. He began at Arizona Western in Yuma.

Lendeborg spent three seasons at Arizona Western College, where he became a two-time NJCAA All-American and left as the NJCAA’s all-time leading rebounder. He became the fifth player in program history to reach the NBA, and Arizona Western expected him to be the first player with junior-college experience ever selected in the draft.

Lendeborg followed his run at Arizona Western by becoming a top national prospect at UAB and then turning in a final season at Michigan that sharpened his draft stock. Michigan announced on June 23 that he was one of the University of Michigan’s 2025-26 Athletes of the Year. He won Big Ten Player of the Year on March 10, 2026, while also earning first-team All-Big Ten recognition from both coaches and media. By the time draft night arrived, he was a reigning NCAA champion after helping power Michigan’s title run in Ann Arbor.

Kyle Isaacs, one of the program’s coaches, said, “I don't anticipate there being a higher junior college draft pick than him.” Scouts and high-major staffs are no longer evaluating junior-college players only by upside in theory. Lendeborg forced them to weigh domination, rebounding, and immediate transferability against the level jump, then answer again when he proved it at UAB and Michigan.

Lendeborg was born in Puerto Rico, later moved with his family to Pennsauken, New Jersey, and is the son of parents who both played basketball for the Dominican Republic’s national team. He became the first former Matador to ever play in an NCAA Final Four game on April 4, 2026, before the title-game stage and now the NBA draft.