Basketball, NBA

Yaxel Lendeborg’s NBA rise carries his Mother’s Sacrifice and Dominican Pride

Image Credit: Megan Latify/Right Way Management

NEW YORK, NY — Yaxel Lendeborg’s introduction to the NBA has included a 37-point performance, several viral moments on the hardwood and a growing role beside Stephen Curry and Draymond Green.

But one of the Golden State Warriors rookie’s most meaningful moments came away from the court: handing his mother the keys to a new home.

The 24-year-old Dominican-American forward who was born in Puerto Rico is turning an unconventional basketball journey into an impressive start to his professional career. Joining the likes of Chris Duarte, Karl-Anthony Towns and Al Horford as Dominicans to hear their names early in a NBA Draft as lottery picks, Golden State selected Lendeborg with the 11th overall pick in the 2026 NBA Draft.

Yaxel Lendeborg is selected 11th overall by the @warriors in the 2026 NBA Draft!

Watch on ABC & ESPN. pic.twitter.com/Hr2Ap5VtkW

— NBA (@NBA) June 24, 2026

His route to the lottery ran through junior college and two Division I programs.

He spent three seasons at Arizona Western before transferring to University of Alabama at Birmingham where he became a two-time American Athletic Conference Defensive Player of the Year. Then at Michigan, he earned Big Ten Player of the Year honors and consensus first-team All-America recognition while helping the Wolverines win the 2026 National Championship—the program’s first ever national title.

Through nine NBA games, Lendeborg averaged 21 points, 7.1 rebounds and 4.1 assists. His scoring and rebounding averages ranked second in his draft class while his assists ranked fourth.

He followed that opening stretch with 23 points, eight rebounds and three blocks in Golden State’s 126-119 overtime victory over Orlando on November 7. His overtime three-pointer vs. the Magic helped the Warriors secure their seventh consecutive victory after an 0-3 start.

Yaxel Lendeborg stays ready 💥

📺 @NBCSAuthentic pic.twitter.com/AyOAtvDtdR

— Golden State Warriors (@warriors) November 8, 2026

Over his past four games, he’s scored 93 points combined while contributing 25 rebounds and 20 assists, showing the versatility that helped carry him through college.

The Mother who Changed his Direction

Before the collegiate accolades and NBA contract, there was a difficult conversation in a minivan.

In his essay published on The Players’ Tribune this past February titled “How My Mom Saved My Life,” Lendeborg described struggling academically and losing his basketball eligibility in high school. His mother, Yissel Raposo, confronted him about his future and insisted he complete 10 community college courses in one year to graduate.

Seeing her distress changed his response. He committed to the work and eventually returned to his high school team.

Even before joining the Golden State Warriors, Yaxel Lendeborg and his mom had been through a lot 💪 pic.twitter.com/RzrJdl2uLm

— 30 for 30 (@30for30) October 27, 2026

Yaxel Lendeborg's reaction when he saw his mom, Yissel, after winning the Natty 🥹 pic.twitter.com/XqGLBNE1DH

— TNT Sports U.S. (@TNTSportsUS) April 7, 2026

Raposo continued pushing by arranging for him to attend a showcase for Dominican players and then helping connect him with Arizona Western, even as he resisted leaving home.

“My mom pretty much saved my life that night,” Lendeborg wrote.

That gratitude now carries added urgency. Raposo has been battling cancer, a diagnosis Lendeborg discussed in his essay while describing his determination to make her proud.

The home he recently bought her in California gave that determination a tangible form. In a video titled “This one’s for Mama Yax,” Raposo became emotional as she approached the doorway.

Lendeborg said arranging the surprise took two to three months.

BasketNews reported that the purchase followed his first NBA paycheck. The precise financing matters less to the meaning he attached to it: giving security to the person who helped him find direction.

“For me, it’s bigger than basketball,” he wrote in the video caption.

Yaxel Lendeborg is the Big Ten Player of the Year.

His mom has been a part of his journey every step of the way: “All I’ve ever wanted was to be someone who my mom could be proud of, someone she is proud to call her son.

Sitting here right now, during this amazing season… pic.twitter.com/ggeyRRmweU

— The Players’ Tribune (@PlayersTribune) March 10, 2026

For Dominican families who recognize the sacrifices behind a child’s opportunities, the scene offers a familiar connection.

In Lendeborg’s telling, his success belongs to his mother, too.

Another Chapter for Dominican Basketball

Lendeborg’s emergence builds on a basketball tradition that long predates his arrival.

Every bucket from Yaxel's career-high 37-point night 🔥 pic.twitter.com/z0wl0eHwI9

— Golden State Warriors (@warriors) November 2, 2026

The Dominican Basketball Federation traces the sport’s introduction to Salvador Cocco Pastoriza, who began teaching it in 1911. Virgilio Travieso Soto later strengthened school competition and the national organization.

Hugo Cabrera helped deliver Centrobasket gold in 1977 and Tito Horford became the first Dominican-born NBA player in 1988.

Felipe López, who has his own connections with Latino Sports, brought another kind of visibility, becoming a celebrated prospect at Rice High School in Harlem and appearing on the cover of Sports Illustrated in 1994. Soon after, he made a name for himself as a star at St. John’s University.

Later generations include Francisco García and Charlie Villanueva, followed by stars Horford, Towns and Duarte.

Today’s college presence extends that connection between the island and Dominican communities in the United States. The federation’s 2025-26 list featured 46 men of Dominican birth or ancestry across multiple college divisions, including Lendeborg and players at Auburn, Baylor and UAB.

Name, image and likeness opportunities have added financial possibilities to those college pathways. Lendeborg wrote that schools offered life-changing money, but he prioritized development and where he would be happiest.