Jeff Teague Makes Major Yaxel Lendeborg Prediction as Warriors Star Gains Support to End 15-Year Streak

Steve Kerr called Yaxel Lendeborg's weak-side awareness "very poor" last weekend, saying that with his size he "should be one of our best defenders at the rim." Days later, the rookie has two respected voices projecting him as an All-Star.

Jeff Teague is the latest, and he put Lendeborg among the best forwards in the West.

"Let's talk about the forwards in the West right now. You got Cooper Flagg All-Star, you got Wemby going to be a All-Star," Teague said. "Next best thing is Şengün, Boozer, KD, Avdija, Yaxel, Zion, Jokic and Jabari Smith. He's damn near out playing a lot of them besides Boozer and Cooper Flagg."

Bill Simmons made a similar call. "Yaxel has a chance to be an All-Star. That's how good he's been," Simmons said on his podcast while discussing Lendeborg and fellow rookie Cameron Boozer. "And I think he's invigorated them. They didn't even play Curry tonight, and they still won."

That was the night the Warriors won without Stephen Curry, and Lendeborg took over.

The production backs them up. Through his first seven NBA games, Lendeborg is averaging 22.3 points, 7.3 rebounds and 3.7 assists. His big night gave him the most points by a Warriors rookie in a game since Curry scored 42 in April 2010; Lendeborg had 37 points on Sunday night.

Only Wilt Chamberlain and Rick Barry had previously averaged at least 20 points through their first seven games with the franchise.

The team's turnaround adds weight to the case. Golden State has won four straight after opening the season 0-3, and Lendeborg has averaged 25 points, 6.5 rebounds and 3.3 assists during that stretch. The Warriors started the season with starting center Kristaps Porzingis out indefinitely due to illness, so the rookie's role is bigger than it might have been.

Simmons even said earlier that Lendeborg "might have single-handedly saved the Steph era."

The last time a rookie made the All-Star team was in 2011, when Blake Griffin did it with the Clippers. Griffin was the first rookie to be named an All-Star since Yao Ming in 2003.

Lendeborg, born September 30, 2002, was a Consensus first-team All-American and Big Ten Player of the Year with Michigan, which won the NCAA title in 2026. He also worked in a warehouse after high school and didn't initially expect to play college basketball.

That path has given him a level of polish and maturity that most rookies lack.

There are still doubts. Kerr's comment on his defense points to a clear area where he needs to improve.

What happens next will decide it. If Lendeborg keeps scoring above 20 and the Warriors stay in the playoff picture, his case will get stronger by the time All-Star voting opens.

If the team slips or his defense becomes a problem, the streak will likely continue. For now, he has two prominent voices backing him, and a record that no rookie has matched in 15 years is within reach.