Yaxel Lendeborg's career-high 37 came on a Curry rest night, and the split decides how to use him
Lendeborg has averaged 57 fantasy points in the two games Stephen Curry and Draymond Green both sat and 28 in the five they played, and with 15 back-to-backs on the Warriors' schedule both numbers matter.
By James · 3 min read
Yaxel LendeborgStephen CurryDraymond GreenPhotos: ESPN, NBAProOur points board now has Yaxel Lendeborg 73rd, and the analysts' consensus has him 147th, a gap of 74 places that one game cannot settle but two kinds of game can explain. On Sunday, with Stephen Curry and Draymond Green rested for the front end of a back-to-back, according to ESPN's recap, the Warriors rookie scored a career-high 37 points on 13-for-19 shooting, 6-for-11 from three, with six assists, four rebounds and a steal in 34 minutes of Golden State's 124-112 win over the Clippers. Under ESPN's standard scoring that line was worth 65 fantasy points, the best of his season.
- Yaxel Lendeborg GSW82ndvs 152nd
- Stephen Curry GSW9thvs 18th
- Draymond Green GSW168thvs 158th
- De'Anthony Melton GSW156thvs 163rd
- Brandin Podziemski GSW69thvs 108th
The useful way to read his first seven games is to split them by who else was on the floor. In the two games Curry and Green both missed, Sunday and the October 24 loss in Phoenix that NBC Sports Bay Area called the first of the Warriors' 15 back-to-backs this season, Lendeborg scored 26 and 37 points and averaged 57 fantasy points. In the five games Curry played, he averaged 18.6 points and 28.4 fantasy points, which is closer to what a manager can count on most nights.
Every player in this story is on the fantasy basketball rankings and the 2026-27 projections, and the NBA depth charts show where each one stands in his team’s rotation tonight.
