Warriors Rookie Lendeborg Talks Belt-Taking Trash on Dillon Brooks
No. 11 pick Yaxel Lendeborg promised to 'give Dillon Brooks belt' before their Oct. 24 opener — and he's got a summer league title to back the bravado.
Summer league MVP energy, but no NBA sample yet — track his October role.
- Lendeborg: No. 11 pick in 2026 NBA Draft
- Summer league title game: 21 pts, 10 reb
- Warriors face Suns opening night Oct. 24
- Brooks 2025-26: 20.2 pts, 29 FPTS/G in 56 games
- Brooks form: -2.8 FPTS vs 2025-26 average, last 5
Yaxel Lendeborg isn't waiting for his NBA debut to start talking. The Warriors' No. 11 overall pick told a Kick stream he plans to "give Dillon Brooks belt" when Golden State opens against Phoenix on Oct. 24 — a bold shot at one of the league's most notorious agitators before Lendeborg has logged a single regular-season minute.
The rookie has receipts backing the confidence. He led Golden State's summer league squad to a championship and dropped 21 points and 10 rebounds in the title game, enough to make an early impression on Steve Kerr. Brooks, for his part, is coming off a 2025-26 line of 20.2 points, 3.6 rebounds and 1.8 assists across 56 games — good for 29 fantasy points per game and a spot as our No. 36 forward.
This isn't Lendeborg's first candid moment. After being drafted, he admitted he used to hate Steph Curry — a self-described Kyrie guy back in 2016 — before calling teaming up with the 38-year-old a full-circle moment he intends to learn from. So the Brooks jab fits a pattern: this kid says what he thinks and worries about the consequences later.
What It Means On The Floor
Talk is cheap when Brooks is the one guarding you. He's built a career on getting under opponents' skin, and his fantasy profile reflects a grinder having a quiet stretch — down 2.8 fantasy points over his last five games versus his 2025-26 average. Lendeborg will have to prove he can absorb that physicality while the Warriors try to squeeze value out of Curry's closing seasons. Golden State whiffed in the LeBron James sweepstakes and made no splashy signings, so the rookie's development matters more than usual.
The Fantasy Angle
For dynasty managers, Lendeborg is the interesting name here — a summer league standout on a team short on frontcourt reinforcements. But we have zero NBA sample, and Kerr's rotations are notoriously unpredictable for young players. Don't burn a redraft pick on trash talk. Watch his October minutes and role before committing a bench spot; if he's playing 20-plus early, he's a live streaming target.
On Brooks: he's a matchup-dependent middle-tier forward whose recent dip makes him a fine hold, not a buy. Nothing about a rookie's bravado changes his value. If anyone in your league is spooked into selling Brooks over headlines, that's a small buy-low window — just don't overpay for a 29-FPTS/G floor.
