Steve Kerr on Warriors rookie Yaxel Lendeborg, who went off against the Clippers last night for 37 points on 19 shots.
He’s so excited to be in the NBA. Five years ago he was in junior college in Yuma, Arizona. And now he’s getting 37 in NBA games. It’s an incredible story.
I don’t know much about Yuma, beyond a Wild West heritage and baking hot baseline. I love the quote because it conveys a sense that some guys suddenly seize their potential in part because they were once only promised obscurity. With Yaxel, many conversations about his play come back to the rookie’s relatively advanced age:
Vinnie Goodwill of ESPN offered a take in response to such focus:
Is he 34? I think the obsession with rookies having to be 19 has folks brains fried
I’ve covered Draftism at House of Strauss, but haven’t really dug into Draft Ageism. That’s mostly because I’m a closet Draft Agist, who was schooled in the John Hollinger research on how teams made mistakes selecting old college players with deceptively impressive stat lines. But ESPN-era Hollinger was covering a different league that would soon absorb many of his perspectives. I wonder if Yaxel’s breakout represents a new way of doing business in the NBA’s Hard Salary Cap Era. But if I’m honest, I believe this scenario just might be unique.