Голдэн Стэйт Уорриорсын шинэхэн тоглогч Яксель Лендеборг NBA-д хөл тавьсан эхний дөрвөн тоглолтдоо гайхалтай амжилт үзүүлж, дасгалжуулагч Стив Керрийн анхаарлыг татаад байна.
Денвер Наггетсын талбайд хийсэн тоглолтод Голдэн Стэйт Уорриорс 134-114-ийн харьцаатай ялалт байгуулахад 24 настай шинэхэн тоглогч Яксель Лендеборг 31 оноо, 12 самбараас бөмбөг авалт, 6 дамжуулалт гүйцэтгэж, талбайд өнгөрүүлсэн 31 минутын хугацаанд +27 үзүүлэлттэй байлаа. Стив Керр тоглолтын шийдвэрлэх мөчүүдэд бөмбөгийг түүний гарт өгч байсныг онцлоод, ийм залуу тоглогч NBA-д ийм түвшинд тоглох нь туйлын ховор үзэгдэл гэж үнэлэв.
Дрэймонд Гриний хэлснээр Лендеборг NBA-ийн тоглолтын хэв маягийг бүрэн таниагүй ч, талбай дээр гайхалтай тоглолт үзүүлж чадаж байгаа нь түүнийг онцгой тоглогч болохыг харуулж байна. OptaStats-ийн судалгаагаар Лендеборг карьерийнхээ эхний дөрвөн тоглолтод 85 оноо, 35 самбараас бөмбөг авалт гүйцэтгэсэн нь Патрик Юинг, Дэвид Робинсон, Шакил О’Нил нартай эн зэрэгцэх амжилт юм.
Стефен Карри түүнийг тоглолтын мэдрэмжтэй, бие бялдрын хувьд эсрэг багийн хамгаалалтад асуудал үүсгэдэг, иж бүрэн тоглогч хэмээн тодорхойлсон байна. Лендеборг өөрөө тоглолтын дараах ярилцлагадаа гурван онооны шидэлт нь оновчгүй байсан ч багийнхаа анхны ялалтад хувь нэмэр оруулсандаа баяртай байгаагаа илэрхийлээд, хувийн статистик хөөх сонирхолгүй гэдгээ онцоллоо.
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DENVER — In his first four games, Yaxel Lendeborg has already gone head-to-head against Luka Doncic and Nikola Jokic. How’s that for a welcome to the NBA?
The way the 24-year-old rookie has responded to the test, the more pertinent question might be: How’s that for an introduction to Yaxel Lendeborg? And maybe another: How much better can this dude get?
After Lendeborg’s most impressive showing yet, leading the Warriors to their first road win over Jokic and the Nuggets since 2022, Draymond Green offered an answer: Eons.
“I don’t care what age you are, it’s the NBA. If you don’t know the NBA game, you’re already at a deficit. He don’t know the game,” Green said. “Not that he don’t know the game of basketball — he don’t know the NBA. And to be able to have the ability to go out there and still do that, not knowing what the NBA really, truly brings on a nightly basis is special.
“It’s no different than what I’ve been saying for weeks now. I think he’s a special player.”
In other words, Lendeborg still has lots of room to grow, especially considering the fact that he only started playing the sport seriously after high school. Now, think about that and take a look at his stat line from the Warriors’ 134-114 win — his fourth career game: 31 points, 12 rebounds, six assists. Plus-27 in 31 minutes.
“Basically, at all the critical moments of the game, we just put the ball in his hands,” coach Steve Kerr said. “For a rookie to be that advanced already, it’s extremely rare. But it’s exciting because I think he’s gonna get a lot better, too.”
Two rookies in Warriors history have ever had a game like Lendeborg’s: Rick Barry and Wilt Chamberlain. Pretty good company. Tally it up with his first three games and it gets even better.
In the lottery era, only four rookies in the entire NBA have ever totaled 85 points and 35 rebounds in their first four games, according to OptaStats research: Patrick Ewing, David Robinson, Shaquille O’Neal — and Lendeborg.
Stephen Curry called him “kind of the full package” after the game on Peacock.
“He’s just got composure and feel, obviously his size on the court, he’s a matchup problem,” Curry said. “But he’s never really in a hurry and he’s starting to see the pictures really well. Distributing, being aggressive, getting to the free throw line, offensive rebounds.”
Green said that he “impose[d] his will on the game.”
Besides a Curry flurry in the third quarter, the Warriors more or less ran their offense through Lendeborg, who used his 6-foot-9, 241-pound frame to steamroll into the lane.
He chased down a block in transition and got back for a bucket on the other end. He made it to the foul line 13 times, only missing once. And as an exclamation point, he slammed home a lob from De’Anthony Melton with 4:36 left.Amid it all, he made just one of his eight attempts from downtown.
“On the night that I can’t make a 3 for nothing, it’s crazy that it’s my best game so far,” Lendeborg said. “Because it was very frustrating for me. I’m just glad that we got our first win. I would have cried if we lost again.”
Another bucket and Lendeborg would have tied or surpassed Darius Acuff Jr. (33 vs. Portland) for the most points by a rookie so far this season. But, he said, “I’ve never been a stat-padder.”
Imagine the numbers he’d be putting up if he was.
