Yaxel Lendeborg powers Warriors to Vegas summer league crown
Golden State beat Memphis 94-90 as Yaxel Lendeborg capped a title-winning summer league run with 21 points and 10 rebounds.
By Georgia Hale · Staff Writer
3 min read
Yaxel Lendeborg has another ring, and the Golden State Warriors have another Vegas summer league title.
ESPN reported that Golden State beat the Memphis Grizzlies 94-90 on Sunday in the NBA summer league championship game at UNLV's Thomas & Mack Center, with Lendeborg finishing on 21 points and 10 rebounds.
The win gave Lendeborg his second championship in four months. According to ESPN, he was part of Michigan's NCAA title team last season before the Warriors took him with the 11th pick in last month's draft.
ESPN reported that Lendeborg became the second player to win both a Division I men's NCAA championship and the Las Vegas Summer League title in the same year, after Davion Mitchell.
Memphis had its own lottery headliner. Cameron Boozer, the No. 3 pick out of Duke, led the Grizzlies with 19 points, eight rebounds and four assists, according to ESPN.
The game stayed tight at halftime, then tilted toward Memphis late in the third quarter. ESPN reported that Boozer hit a 3-pointer at the end of the period to give the Grizzlies their first double-digit lead.
Lendeborg answered in the fourth. ESPN reported that he scored three baskets in quick order as Golden State climbed back into the game and closed out the title.
Golden State got plenty of help beyond its lottery forward. Guard Deivon Smith scored 21 points off the bench, and ESPN reported that five Warriors players reached double figures, including Lendeborg and LJ Cryer.
The Grizzlies still had a path in the final minute. ESPN reported that Boozer missed a 3-pointer that could have won the game, and Olivier-Maxence Prosper later committed a turnover on an inbounds pass.
After the game, Lendeborg told ESPN: "Coming into this program, I just wanted to prove that I'm a winner." He added that his focus was on results rather than statistics and said the same team-first approach helped both at Michigan and with Golden State.
Boozer told ESPN he needed to be more assertive. He said he had two clean late chances that did not go in, while describing the game as intense and back-and-forth.
The result also gave Golden State its second summer league championship. ESPN reported that the Warriors joined the Sacramento Kings and Portland Trail Blazers as the only franchises to win the event more than once since it began in 2013.
The Warriors finished summer league at 5-1. Memphis ended at 4-2, with Boozer leading what ESPN described as a youth movement after the franchise traded All-Stars Ja Morant and Jaren Jackson Jr. in separate deals.
ESPN reported that Golden State used the 6-foot-9 Lendeborg as a do-everything forward and primary scorer in Las Vegas, though he is expected to play a supporting role next to Stephen Curry and Jimmy Butler.
Warriors summer league coach Khalid Robinson told ESPN that Lendeborg fits because of his skill set, size, physical profile and competitive spirit, saying that spirit showed when Golden State had to rally.
This story draws on original reporting from ESPN.com.