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Golden State Warriors rookie Yaxel Lendeborg endured the worst night of his young NBA career on Friday 13 November 2026, going 1-for-13 from the field for three points as the San Antonio Spurs routed the Curry-less Warriors 123-85 at the Frost Bank Center. The 24-year-old, who had been averaging 21.7 points a game and topping the NBA’s Kia Rookie Ladder, was asked to carry Golden State’s offence with Stephen Curry sidelined by an oblique tear — and afterwards he did not hide from the result, admitting he was “flustered the entire game”.
Quick Reference Summary Table
| Final score | San Antonio Spurs 123, Golden State Warriors 85. |
| Date and venue | Friday 13 November 2026, Frost Bank Center, San Antonio. |
| Lendeborg’s line | 3 points, 1-for-13 shooting, 7 rebounds, 1 assist, minus-40 in 24 minutes. |
| Spurs’ leaders | Stephon Castle 32 points, 6 assists; Victor Wembanyama 12 points, 12 rebounds, 6 assists. |
| Warriors’ record | 8-5 after the loss; second defeat in a row. |
| Why Curry missed the game | Right oblique abdominal tear, suffered 11 November in Houston; out at least two weeks. |
| Lendeborg’s season so far | 21.7 points, 7.4 rebounds, 3.7 assists per game through 12 games. |
| Spurs’ streak | 11 straight wins. |
| Next Warriors game | At the New Orleans Pelicans on Monday night. |
A Night That Went Wrong From the Opening Tip
The Spurs set the tone before Golden State had scored a point. San Antonio opened the game on an 18-0 run, and the Warriors never recovered from a start that left their rookie centrepiece chasing the game from the first minute. By the final buzzer the margin was 38 points, the Warriors’ heaviest defeat of the season so far.
Lendeborg’s shooting told the story of the night. He missed his first attempts, then kept missing, finishing 1-for-13 with three points, seven rebounds and one assist in 24 minutes. It was his lowest scoring return of the season, and a team-worst minus-40 while he was on the floor. The Warriors as a group shot 10-of-42 with Wembanyama on the court, a 24 per cent conversion rate that ESPN reported as the worst by any team when the French centre has been on the floor in a game in his career.
The defeat was Golden State’s second in a row, and it dropped the Warriors to 8-5. Two days earlier they had lost in Houston, the same game in which Curry tore his right oblique. Without their talisman, the offence that had carried them through the opening weeks looked lost, and the rookie asked to replace him could not find a shot all night.
“Flustered the Entire Game” — Lendeborg’s Own Verdict
What made the night stand out was not the scoreline alone but how honestly Lendeborg spoke about it afterwards. In a sombre visitors’ locker room at the Frost Bank Center, the rookie told reporters he had no lessons to take from the performance. “I was flustered the entire game,” he said, adding that he could not make a layup and did not know what to learn from a night when his team was beaten so heavily.
He was equally frank about the player who had caused so much of the damage. Asked about scoring against Victor Wembanyama, Lendeborg said: “He’s skinnier than me. I just got to go up there and put an elbow in his chest and jump into his body or something. If he blocks it, he blocks it. I can’t be going up there scared.” He admitted the whole team had played scared in a way, and that the defeat had left him shaken mentally.
The candour landed because it matched what everyone had just watched. Lendeborg had entered the game as the Warriors’ primary offensive option for the first time, with Curry out and the team short-handed. Instead of rising to the moment, he produced the worst outing of his 13-game career. His response was to own it in full, without excuses.
The Wembanyama Problem Nobody in Golden State Solved
Wembanyama did not even need a big scoring night to dominate the game. The 7 ft 4 in Frenchman played only 21 minutes and finished with 12 points, 12 rebounds, six assists, two blocks and a steal — yet the Warriors shot 24 per cent while he was on the floor, the worst figure of his career against any opponent.
The Spurs did not rely on him alone. Stephon Castle led all scorers with 32 points and six assists, and San Antonio’s depth kept the pressure on long after the result was settled. The win extended the Spurs’ winning streak to 11 games, the hottest run in the league, and underlined how far ahead of Golden State they looked on the night.
For the Warriors, the problem was structural as much as individual. With Curry out, there was no second creator to bend the defence, and Lendeborg — a forward, not a guard — was asked to generate offence against the longest frontcourt in basketball. The result was a night of contested jumpers and blocked drives, and a reminder that one rookie, however talented, cannot replace a two-time MVP.
From Warehouse Shifts to the Top of the Rookie Ladder
The scale of the night is clearer when set against Lendeborg’s journey to the NBA. Born on 30 September 2002 in Puerto Rico to Dominican parents, he grew up in Pennsauken, New Jersey, and played only 11 varsity basketball games in his senior year of high school. His mother Yissel Raposo, a former basketball and volleyball player, pushed him back to the game after his grandfather — the father figure who had introduced him to sport — died and Lendeborg walked away from basketball to work in a warehouse.
The route back ran through junior college at Arizona Western, then UAB, where he became a two-time American Athletic Conference Defensive Player of the Year and posted a nation-leading 26 double-doubles as a senior. He transferred to Michigan for 2025-26, won Big Ten Player of the Year, earned consensus All-American honours and helped the Wolverines win the 2026 NCAA national championship. Golden State selected him 11th overall in the 2026 NBA Draft, and he signed his first professional contract on 1 July 2026.
That background is why the Spurs game, bad as it was, has to be kept in proportion. Through his first 12 games Lendeborg had averaged 21.7 points, 7.4 rebounds and 3.7 assists on 51.8 per cent shooting, and he sat at the top of the NBA’s Kia Rookie Ladder. He had scored a career-high 37 points in a 124-112 win over the LA Clippers, put up 31 against the Denver Nuggets, and recorded 25 points and 10 rebounds against Houston in the game Curry was injured.
The “Next Face of the Franchise” Talk — and Why He Pushed Back
Lendeborg’s rise had already produced bold predictions before the Spurs game. Draymond Green had declared that the Warriors had found “the next face of the franchise”, and Lendeborg himself had told Taylor Rooks on NBA on Prime that he was aiming higher than Rookie of the Year. “I’m trying to be an All-Star this year,” he said, a declaration that drew a loud reaction across the NBA world.
When Rooks pressed him on Green’s prediction, Lendeborg disagreed with his own veteran team-mate. “No, I do not,” he said when asked whether he felt like the future face of the franchise, explaining that he had expected to be a role player averaging around seven points a game when he was drafted. The exchange showed a player comfortable setting his own terms — which is also why his honesty after the Spurs defeat carried weight.
The All-Star talk will not disappear because of one bad night. Lendeborg’s numbers through 12 games still place him among the most productive rookies in the league, and his 37-point night against the Clippers came only days before the Spurs loss. But the blowout was a reminder of the gap between a promising start and the consistency the award, and the All-Star nod, will demand.
What the Blowout Means With Curry Sidelined
The deeper worry for Golden State is not one rookie’s shooting line but the shape of the team without Curry. The 38-point margin was the Warriors’ worst loss of the season, and it came in the first game of a stretch with Curry out for at least two weeks. The offence that had averaged more than 120 points in its best early-season wins looked ordinary without its engine.
There is a comparison point from earlier in the season. When Curry sat out, Lendeborg had carried the scoring load against the Clippers with his 37-point career high. Against San Antonio, the same responsibility produced three points. The difference was the opponent — a Spurs side on an 11-game winning streak with the league’s most disruptive defender — but it also showed how thin the margin is when a rookie is the first option.
Golden State are not the only side leaning on young talent this week — the Clippers’ Darius Garland has also been in the spotlight, and his father’s own NBA journey is told in our profile of Winston Garland. Elsewhere in combat sport this weekend, UFC 334 headlines a stacked card at Madison Square Garden.
Golden State’s schedule offers little breathing room. The Warriors travel to New Orleans to face the Pelicans on Monday night, still without Curry, and Lendeborg will again be central to whatever they produce. How he responds to the worst night of his career will say more about his rookie season than the 1-for-13 line itself.
What Comes Next for Golden State
The Warriors get two days off before the trip to New Orleans, a team they beat by 51 points last Monday. Curry will be re-evaluated in about two weeks, so the short-term answer has to come from within the current roster. Lendeborg, for his part, has already set the tone for the response — no excuses, no hiding, and a public admission that fear played a part in the performance.
If the rookie’s season so far is any guide, one bad night will not define him. He has answered every setback in his career — from a warehouse job to a national championship — by working through it. Monday night in New Orleans is the first chance to show that the Spurs game was the exception, not the rule.
Frequently Asked Questions
What happened to Yaxel Lendeborg against the Spurs?
In his first game as Golden State’s primary offensive option, Lendeborg went 1-for-13 from the field for three points, with seven rebounds and one assist, as the Warriors lost 123-85 to San Antonio on Friday 13 November 2026. It was the worst game of his 13-game NBA career.
Why was Stephen Curry not playing?
Curry tore his right oblique abdominal muscle in the Warriors’ game at Houston on Wednesday 11 November 2026. He is expected to be out for at least two weeks and will be re-evaluated after that period.
How good has Lendeborg been this season?
Through his first 12 games he averaged 21.7 points, 7.4 rebounds and 3.7 assists on 51.8 per cent shooting, and he topped the NBA’s Kia Rookie Ladder. His career high is 37 points against the LA Clippers.
How did Lendeborg reach the NBA?
He played only 11 varsity games in high school, then went through Arizona Western College, UAB — where he was a two-time AAC Defensive Player of the Year — and Michigan, where he won Big Ten Player of the Year and the 2026 NCAA national championship. Golden State drafted him 11th overall in 2026.
When do the Warriors play next?
Golden State travel to face the New Orleans Pelicans on Monday night, still without Stephen Curry.
Myth-Busting: Three Things the Blowout Does Not Mean
Myth: One bad game means Lendeborg is a bust. No — through 12 games he averaged 21.7 points on 51.8 per cent shooting, topped the Kia Rookie Ladder and scored a career-high 37 points days earlier. A single 1-for-13 night does not erase that.
Myth: The Warriors lost only because Curry was out. Curry’s absence hurt, but the Spurs led 18-0, won by 38 points and held Golden State to 24 per cent shooting with Wembanyama on the floor. San Antonio dominated both ends of the court.
Myth: Lendeborg is a 19-year-old rookie like most first-round picks. He entered the NBA at 24 after a long college path through junior college, UAB and Michigan, with 112 major-college games behind him — the oldest first-round prospect in the 2026 class.
