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Warriors rookie Yaxel Lendeborg already has an enemy in NBA

Sandy Verma | August 17, 2026 9:24 AM CST

Golden State Warriors rookie forward Yaxel Lendeborg hasn’t played a single minute of official NBA basketball, yet he’s already known for his trash-talking.

He got on Draymond Green’s ear by calling him out over the Michigan-Michigan State rivalry, and he’s now looking to make a statement against another one of the league’s prime villains.

In a recent Kick stream session, the rookie first-round pick put Dillon Brooks on notice. More than that, he vowed to give the Phoenix Suns’ defensive specialist the best of his repertoire.

Yaxel Lendeborg calls out Dillon Brooks

“I’m finna give Dillon Brooks belt man,” Lendeborg said.

Brooks is one of the league’s most polarizing players, a defensive-minded veteran who has embraced a villain persona and will go the extra mile to get in his opposition’s heads.

It looks like he already has some real estate in the Bay Area, and it’ll be interesting to see whether Lendeborg can back it up. For what it’s worth, Lendeborg, 23, is much older than the average rookie, so it’s not like he’ll be starstruck or intimidated. Also, the “Dominican LeBron” is a relentless and physical competitor.

Lendeborg recently set his scoring goals for his rookie season, and while they sound quite reasonable, he also laid his own bed by going on the record to say he had to reach those numbers.

“I’m gonna try to average 15 points, 6 rebounds, and 3 or 4 assists. I’ll make that the bare minimum for me. If I get under that I’m a—,” he said in another streaming session.

He averaged 14.8 points, 6.8 rebounds and 4.0 assists in six Summer League games, earning MVP honors and leading the team to the championship, so those numbers might not be far-fetched. Of course, he’ll have to do much more than that when he plays Brooks to put his money where his mouth is.