Yaxel Lendeborg Addresses Jersey Swap With Ex-Warrior Jordan Poole

Forward Yaxel Lendeborg and guard Jordan Poole both starred at Michigan, and on Monday night the two former Wolverines traded jerseys after the Golden State Warriors beat the New Orleans Pelicans 138-87 at Chase Center.

The night belonged to Lendeborg on the court, as he scored 23 points on 8-of-10 shooting, made all four of his 3-point tries and added seven rebounds and four assists with a plus-34 in 27 minutes.

Poole had a much tougher time against his old team.

He came off the bench for seven points on 1-of-5 shooting in 34 minutes, and New Orleans dropped to 4-7 with its third straight loss.

"It was amazing. I've always wanted to meet him since I went to Michigan," Lendeborg said after the game, in comments posted by 95.7 The Game.

Lendeborg added that Poole seems to have a personality and character a lot like his own, and he said it was great to finally meet him.

It was a fun moment for two players from the same school who have taken very different paths, and fans in the Bay Area will enjoy seeing the two of them together.

The Warriors took Poole 28th overall in 2019, and he spent four seasons in the Bay Area and won a title in 2022 before Golden State traded him to the Washington Wizards in July 2023.

Washington then sent him to New Orleans in a three-team trade in July 2025.

Lendeborg is just getting started after Golden State took him 11th overall in the 2026 draft after he helped Michigan win the national title, and he has started all 11 games while averaging 21.4 points, 7.2 rebounds and 4.0 assists.

He has already changed how people see this Warriors team, and nights like Monday make it easy to see why.

The win over the Pelicans was the eighth straight for Golden State, which started the season 0-3 and now sits at 8-3.

Guard Stephen Curry has heard the doubts about this group, and this team has spent the last two weeks proving those doubters wrong, with Lendeborg right in the middle of it.

The run has come with injuries piling up, as guard Will Richard tore a ligament in his left thumb and will decide over the next week whether to have surgery or play with a splint, guard Gary Payton II missed Monday with left knee inflammation, and forward Jimmy Butler remains out as he recovers from a torn right ACL.

Even the owner has been excited about the rookie's start, and Lendeborg has given the whole roster a lift while the bodies have been thin.

The Warriors now head out on the road, starting Wednesday at Houston and Friday at San Antonio.

The schedule then brings them to New Orleans on Nov. 16, which means Lendeborg and Poole will see each other again in less than a week.

I think Lendeborg could end up as the best player to come out of that Michigan pipeline, and I am already looking forward to the rematch in New Orleans.