Yaxel Lendeborg explains 'very clear decision' to stick with Michigan
The Michigan Wolverines‘ outlook for 2025-26 was granted a major boost this week with the news that uber-productive forward Yaxel Lendeborg would remove his name from the NBA Draft and head to Ann Arbor.
Now, he has shed some light on that decision.
One of the narratives of the NBA Combine was that some evaluators believed a year with Dusty May at Michigan could boost his stock next year, despite the potential for him to go in the first round this year.
“When I working out with NBA teams, working through that whole process talking with teams, they pretty much assured me, or reassured me, that even if I was to go to Michigan, the majority of them would still be with me and it wouldn’t hurt my draft stock,” Lendeborg said, via Steve Irvine of The Banner. “I wouldn’t say I wasn’t ready to go into the draft, but skill wise I don’t know if I would be as productive as I think I am. Pretty much what decided it was teams telling me I could still get drafted in the same spot or better if I go polish my game.”
The No. 1 player in the transfer portal was a star this past season at UAB, averaging 17.7 points, 11.4 rebounds, 4.2 assists, 1.8 blocks and 1.7 assists per game, shooting 52.2% from the field and 35.7% from the three-point range. Lendeborg had season highs of 30 points and 20 rebounds in a 94-77 win over East Carolina in the AAC Tournament, along with 8 assists, 4 blocks and 5 steals. He was the AAC Defensive Player of the Year and an All-AAC First-Team selection for the second year in a row. He also set a single-season program record for rebounds with 420 this year and led the NCAA with 26 double-doubles on the season.
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He was looking for a team to give him a first-round promise that ultimately never came, despite evaluators giving him a great chance to go in the first 30 picks.
“It was sort of a very clear decision for me because nobody really promised or guaranteed me that first round,” Lendeborg said. “There were a lot saying I would be first round but none would guarantee it was them at that moment.”
Lendeborg’s presence now makes Michigan basketball a Big Ten and national title contender as the headlining piece of the offseason. He joins a roster that brought in three other transfers in guard Elliot Cadeau (North Carolina), forward/center Morez Johnson Jr. (Illinois) and center Aday Mara (UCLA), a group that ranks No. 4 in On3’s Team Transfer Portal Rankings.
