Steph Curry is welcoming Yaxel Lendeborg with open arms despite the rookie admitting he was not always his biggest fan.
The Golden State Warriors selected Lendeborg 11th overall in the 2026 NBA Draft at Barclays Center on Tuesday. The 6-foot-9 forward made an unexpected admission in his post-draft interview. He revealed he rooted against Curry and the Warriors during the 2016 NBA Finals.
The reason was simple. Lendeborg was a die-hard fan of former Cleveland Cavaliers star and current Dallas Mavericks guard Kyrie Irving.
"In 2016, I'm a big Kyrie [Irving] guy, so I used to hate Steph Curry," he said. "So now that I'm actually going to be able to be on the same team with him, play, and actually learn so much from him, it means a lot."
Lendeborg later took to Instagram to share his gratitude after realizing his NBA dream. Curry spotted the post and delivered a hilarious reply.
"Let's go! Welcome to the Bay!" Curry wrote. "I'm going to work hard to be your new favorite player."
Lendeborg arrives in Golden State fresh off helping the Michigan Wolverines win the 2026 NCAA title.
The 23-year-old dominated in his lone season with Michigan. He averaged 15.6 points, 6.8 rebounds, 3.2 assists, 1.2 blocks and 1.1 steals across 40 games.
He earned consensus First-Team All-American honors, Big Ten Player of the Year and a spot on the All-Defensive Team. He also became the first Michigan player to score at least 20 points in three straight NCAA Tournament games since Juwan Howard in 1994.
How the Warriors deploy his skill set will be worth watching. If Curry has anything to say about it, Lendeborg will have a new favorite player before long.
