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SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA - OCTOBER 10: Precious Achiuwa #9 of the Sacramento Kings looks to pass the ball while defended by Draymond Green #23 and Yaxel Lendeborg #1 of the Golden State Warriors during the first half of the preseason game at Chase Center on October 10, 2026 in San Francisco, California.
Move over, Steph Curry, because the Golden State Warriors have found a new face of the franchise. At least, that’s what superstar Draymond Green believes.
Curry, 38, left the Warriors’ open practice in obvious pain on Monday after suffering an apparent knee injury. But Golden State fans need not fear.
According to Green, rookie first-round pick Yaxel Lendeborg is ready to step up and be the new face of the franchise for the organization both on and off the court.
“Here’s what I will say… The Golden State Warriors has found the next face of the franchise.”
Draymond Green on Yaxel Lendeborg 🗣️
(via @DraymondShow) https://t.co/ti6ErGqW4Z
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) October 20, 2026
Draymond Green And Yaxel Lendeborg Have Found Common Ground
At first, fans were unsure how the pairing of Green and Lendeborg would work with one another. After all, they’re both highly competitive and highly outspoken, and come from rival colleges.
In fact, it seemingly took less than a month for the two to start beefing with one another. But now that’s seemingly water under the bridge, and Green is all-in on the rookie from Michigan.
“The Golden State Warriors have found the next face of the franchise,” Green said of Lendeborg on a recent episode of his podcast.
“We’re gonna talk Rookie of the Year next; that’s my pick,” he continued. “We had open practice, and these are just the types of things I pay attention to. We do the signing, this dude went up in the crowd, and the fans loved it. They were going crazy,” Green said. “I don’t even think he realized what he was doing … he’s in the tunnel signing autographs. Steve [Kerr] has to go get him, literally; Steve has to walk over there and go get him.”
Given Green’s shaky history with young players on the Warriors, Lendeborg couldn’t possibly ask for more ringing endorsement. Now it’s a matter of whether or not he can go out on the court and live up to those high expectations.