Dusty May Makes Bold Claim About Yaxel Lendeborg’s NBA Future

May gave high praise to Lendeborg not just for his talent, but also for his character off the court.

“It is special because he just has a good heart and he is open to everyone,” May said. “He will go and sign autographs for an hour or two hours. Typically, guys walk out, sign a couple and keep it moving. He literally would've stayed in the arena last night and signed 80,000 autographs if someone wouldn’t have rescued him from that.”

As far as on the court play, May said Yaxel is ready to step on the floor and compete today.

“He’s just scratching the surface,” May said. “I go to a lot of NBA games… Every time I leave, I say, ‘he is an NBA rotational guy or starter now on a good team.’ He’s smart, he can defend multiple positions. He can play multiple positions on the other side of the ball.”

Lendeborg had a decorated final season of college basketball with the Wolverines, highlighted by All-American honors and being named the Big Ten Player of the Year. He finished the season averaging 15.1 points, 6.8 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game, while shooting over 50% from the floor and 37.2% from deep.

So, where will Lendeborg land in the NBA draft? According to Bleacher Report, somewhere in the late lottery to mid-first round.

With his older age, a team looking for an NBA-ready forward that needs a piece to win now should be high on Lendeborg, as he has high upside to contribute right away.