Yaxel Lendeborg added another trophy to an already remarkable year on Sunday, leading the Golden State Warriors to the NBA Summer League championship with a 94-90 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies in Las Vegas.
The No. 11 overall pick finished with 21 points and 10 rebounds, helping Golden State erase a second-half deficit while outplaying fellow lottery selection Cameron Boozer in one of the most anticipated rookie matchups of the summer.
After the win, Lendeborg reflected on what the championship meant to him.
“Coming into this program, I just wanted to prove that I’m a winner,” said Lendeborg, the 11th pick in last month’s draft. “Doing stuff like this — not caring about the stats and just caring about the outcome. I’m going to continue to push that into next season with the bigger Warriors. … At Michigan, we played team ball. Here, we play team ball. That’s what wins games and championships.”
The victory capped a 5-1 Summer League campaign for Golden State, which became just the third franchise to win multiple Summer League titles since the event began in 2013. It also gave Lendeborg his second championship in four months after helping Michigan capture the NCAA title, making him only the second player to win both in the same calendar year.
Boozer did everything he could to keep Memphis in front, finishing with 19 points, eight rebounds and four assists.
He even knocked down a three-pointer late in the third quarter to push the Grizzlies to a double-digit lead, but Lendeborg responded with three straight baskets during the deciding stretch to spark Golden State’s comeback.
Lendeborg wasn’t shy after the final buzzer either.
“Their butts got tight,” Lendeborg said. “They puckered up. Some of us are built for the moment and some aren’t. … Our spirit, our will, our desire to not lose is pretty much what helped us out.”
Despite missing a potential game-winning three in the closing seconds, Boozer embraced the experience.
“I’ve got to find a way to assert myself more,” Boozer said. “At the end, I got two great looks, but they didn’t fall. … We lost, but this is why I love the game. It was high-intensity and back-and-forth.”
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