00:01With the 11th pick in the 2026 NBA Draft, the Golden State Warriors select Yaxel Lendeborg from the University of
00:12Michigan.
00:14You know Yaxel is a national champion and the Big Ten Player of the Year.
00:20But Yaxel and the woman standing beside him today are one of the remarkable stories of the draft.
00:28And you can see the emotion here, but Yaxel credits his mother, Giselle, with saving his life when he was
00:37struggling in high school.
00:37And he told me that when he walks across the stage, he wants people to know that there were so
00:43many times he said that it was hard for me to believe in myself.
00:46And he was close to giving up.
00:49And this woman, Giselle, it was his mom who used to call him every single draft night and ask him,
00:58are you watching?
00:59Because someday this could be you and someday this could be us.
01:04And Yaxel found out that his mom had appendix canceled last fall, and she's still in that fight.
01:10But he told me that this moment is for her.
01:14You can see that here.
01:16A tremendous story, Jay, and a tremendous player.
01:21He's an outstanding player.
01:23You know, he started his career in junior college at Arizona Western.
01:26He's a two-time Juco All-American.
01:28Went to UAB.
01:30And last year at UAB, there were two players that led their teams in scoring, rebounding, assist, steals, and blocks.
01:37It was Cooper Flagg at Duke and Yaxel Lindeborg at UAB.
01:41Then he goes to Michigan.
01:43And he was second in the nation in—he led the nation in plus-minus, second in win shares.
01:49He's a winner.
01:49He's a winner.
