Yaxel Lendeborg is not going to be quiet. Not now, not ever. And after his Warriors beat Cameron Boozer’s Grizzlies for the NBA Summer League title Sunday, Lendeborg had the microphone.
The Warriors rookie dropped 21 points, hit huge shots down the stretch, and led a double-digit comeback in the fourth quarter at the Thomas and Mack Center. Then he grabbed the postgame mic and dropped some heat on Boozer.
“I think about revenge every time I play him,” Lendeborg said, per Ben Golliver. “Every game we play, them refs be saving him. It is a competitive nature with everybody that gets drafted ahead of me.”
Then this: “Man, their butts got tight. They puckered up, you know what I mean? Some of us are built for the moment and some aren’t.”
That’s how you announce yourself in July.
The Rivalry Has History
Lendeborg and Boozer have real history. They played against each other in college. They played five days before the title game in a Summer League regular-season matchup where Boozer’s Grizzlies won. That’s two straight losses for Lendeborg going into Sunday.
The revenge came in the fourth quarter. Warriors down. Lendeborg took over. Boozer went cold. Grizzlies went home.
Boozer’s Fourth Quarter Cratered
Boozer, the No. 3 overall pick out of Duke, had a rough closing 10 minutes. He shot 1-for-5 from the field in the fourth. He missed a potential go-ahead three from the top of the key with 10 seconds left. And he lost possession on a controversial call that went the Warriors’ way when refs granted Golden State a timeout after Boozer had already stripped Lendeborg for what would have been a go-ahead layup.
The final numbers: 19 points, 8 rebounds. Not bad. Just not enough.
Lendeborg Got MVP
The tournament MVP went to Lendeborg. He finished with 21 points, 10 rebounds, and two steals on 9-of-18 shooting in the title game. That kind of stat line in that spot is why the Warriors are excited.
Golden State won its second Summer League title, joining a very short list of franchises with multiple. Lendeborg made it look effortless in the moments that mattered.
Boozer Will Get His Chances
Cameron Boozer is going to have a great NBA career. He’s 6-foot-9, has elite skill for his size, and comes from a basketball family that has been prepping him for this his whole life. One bad fourth quarter in July does not define a rookie.
What it does is give Lendeborg the win of the summer. That’s the story that gets told in October. That’s the story Warriors fans will remember. Lendeborg took the moment and made it his.
Regular Season Storyline
These two are going to be linked for years. Both have edge. Both talk. Both play with a real chip on their shoulder. Any time Golden State plays Memphis this season, the cameras will find them. Lendeborg made sure of it Sunday.
The trash talk was direct. The performance backed it up. That’s the kind of rookie confidence that either burns out fast or turns into a career. Golden State is betting on the second option.
A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.
