It may have been just four games, but Golden State Warriors' rookie forward Yaxel Lendeborg has been everything the Warriors needed him to be and more. 

He's taken on every challenge that's been presented to him. From jumping straight into the starting lineup despite being drafted 11th-overall just a few months ago, to taking on some of the NBA's biggest starts like Luka Doncic and Nikola Jokic, Lendeborg has not only refused to back down, he's risen higher and high while showing off his potential. 

That potential culminated in thus far it's highest peak in the Warriors' 134-114 win over the Denver Nuggets when Lendeborg led the game with 31-points and added 12 rebounds, six assists and one block to boot. After that performance, Lendeborg has put himself into the same territory as some of the best big men the NBA has ever seen.

Per OptaStats on X, Lendeborg became just the fourth player in the draft lottery era with 85+ points and 35+ rebounds in their first four career games, joining Hall of Fame centers Shaquille O'Neal, David Robinson and Patrick Ewing. 

There isn't much better company to be in than those four names and it speaks to both Lendeborg's talent and the responsibility that's been put upon him to have the opportunity to have that much volume attached to him. 

When the Warriors drafted him, they did so with the expectation that he would hit the ground running in the starting five and add a sorely-needed boost to a Warriors roster that's thin in young, impactful talent.

He's 24-years-old, played six collegiate across both junior college and the NCAA and knows what it's like to veteran in his own right when he led the Michigan Wolverines to. 2026 NCAA championship.

So far, Lendeborg has done exactly what the Warriors have needed him to do.

He's entered historic territory while shouldering the burden of being a rookie starter and already looks like not just one of the best big men in the NBA, a stacked category in and of itself, but also the best candidate for the future face of the Warriors when the Steph Curry era comes to an eventual close. 

The season has just begun and Lendeborg still has a lot more to prove and a lot more to achieve, but what he's already achieved in such a short span of time is a glowing endorsement for the kind of player that Lendeborg can grow into, a player that should leave the Warriors thrilled with who they drafted.