Golden State Warriors rookie Yaxel Lendeborg revealed that he initially struggled with confidence while playing alongside Stephen Curry and Draymond Green, admitting that he was hesitant to take shots before receiving encouragement from both veterans.
Lendeborg, who recently scored 37 points in a game without Curry and Green in the lineup, explained that joining a team led by two established stars made him cautious about his offensive responsibilities.
The rookie did not want to appear as though he was trying to prove himself by taking scoring opportunities away from his more experienced teammates.
“It was a little tough for me because, you know, obviously I’m coming into Steph and Draymond’s team and I don’t want to be that guy that thinks that, oh, I have to prove myself to these guys and, you know, taking away shots from them.”
Lendeborg admitted that his uncertainty affected how aggressively he played early on.
Rather than immediately trusting his instincts, he was concerned about making mistakes and finding the right balance within Golden State’s offense.
After one game, he approached Curry and Green to ask what he could improve.
Both veterans gave him similar advice, encouraging him to be more aggressive and assuring him that making mistakes was part of his development.
“I was a little timid, very very nervous, very to go out there and just be myself. After the game, I asked Steph and Draymond both, ‘What do you guys think I should do better? What do you Like, what are the things that you guys see that I didn’t see?’ And both of their responses were pretty much the same, you know, just being aggressive, I have room to make mistakes…”
According to Lendeborg, that conversation helped him become more comfortable on the court.
He began looking for his own scoring opportunities instead of worrying about whether he was taking too many shots.
The rookie also gained a better understanding of Curry’s approach, realizing that the Warriors superstar was more concerned about the team’s success than his individual scoring totals.
“So, after that, the transition kind of just snapped, it just went easy. I just started being way more aggressive, starting getting the ball in transition, going to score… I know at the end of the day, Steph doesn’t care if he scores, he just wants us to win or us to score.”
