LAS VEGAS – Down 10 heading into the fourth quarter, the Warriors looked like they were giving away the Summer League championship. Yaxel Lendeborg had other plans.
The 11th pick in the 2026 NBA Draft scored 21 points and grabbed 10 rebounds Sunday night, engineering a comeback that flipped a 10-point deficit into a title. The Golden State Warriors beat the Memphis Grizzlies 94-90 to win the Summer League for the second time in franchise history, finishing 5-1. Lendeborg was named Championship Game MVP.
A piece of NBA history
Lendeborg has now won both the NCAA championship and the Summer League title in the same calendar year. Tyus Jones pulled off a similar double with Duke and the Minnesota Timberwolves, winning the 2015 NCAA crown before lifting the Summer League trophy in 2016. That kind of company, attached to an 11th pick, is something Golden State’s front office will not forget.
He shot 9-of-18 from the field with two steals, and averaged 13.6 points, 6.2 rebounds and 4.4 assists across his first five Summer League games while shooting 50% from the floor. In the fourth quarter Sunday, the Warriors outscored Memphis by 14 points in 12 minutes to complete the win.
Boozer showed up anyway
Most of the game had felt like Cameron Boozer’s showcase. The Grizzlies’ third overall pick, carrying the weight of enormous expectations at 19, finished with 19 points, eight rebounds and four assists – a real showing for a teenager on the biggest Summer League stage. Cedric Coward added another 19 for Memphis. The Grizzlies owned the second and third quarters, and for a stretch it looked like Boozer was about to flip the script on the Warriors’ lottery selection.
But Lendeborg would not let it happen. His fourth-quarter scoring and composure closed the door. For Memphis, Boozer’s debut does not lose anything in a loss like that.
What it means for Golden State
Summer League results don’t win you playoff games. But late-game composure from an 11th pick – the kind that shows up when a 10-point fourth-quarter deficit tries to convince a young player the game is already over – is the sort of tape that travels. Per Bleacher Report, Lendeborg’s Summer League run makes him a legitimate storyline heading into training camp.
Bottom line
- History made – Lendeborg won an NCAA title and a Summer League championship in the same calendar year, a double Tyus Jones (NCAA 2015, Summer League 2016) needed two seasons to complete.
- The 11th pick delivered – 21 points, 10 rebounds, Championship MVP in the final. Golden State’s draft night is looking better by the game.
- Boozer’s debut holds – 19 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assists in a championship game is a credible opening chapter for the third overall pick.
