Michigan basketball skilled big Yaxel Lendeborg named as a top pick in early 2026 NBA Draft

"Of all the players who opted to return to college basketball this year, Lendeborg may have had the best chance to end up in the first-round. Instead, he'll become a focal point for Michigan, reportedly for a steep NIL package. He'll step into the role vacated by Danny Wolf, enabling him to show his versatility and playmaking at his size, which could catapult him to the lottery if everything goes just right. 

"Lendeborg will turn 23 next September, so his age is relevant, but at 6-9 with a 7-4 wingspan and an almost unique combination of tools, numerous people in the NBA are extremely high on his upside."  

Lendeborg was the No. 1 rated transfer portal player who entered and Dusty May swooped in to land him. The former UAB Blazer was one of the best college players in America last season, averaging 17.7 points, 11.4 rebounds, and 4.2 assists per game. He also shot over 35% from 3.

In a recent interview, coach May said he plans on using Lendeborg as a 'queen on a chess board'.

“Well, they're very similar that they're both big players who are skilled," May said of Wolf and Lendeborg. "They're different in how they approach things. But the one thing about Yax, we think he'll be able to unlock some playmaking ability here.

"Once again, that league is a lot different. It's smaller, it's more athletic. We were able to play extremely small at FAU, at the Big Ten. He'll be defended by much bigger players a lot of the time. So he'll be able to use his speed and his quickness. But the one thing about Yax is when he draws to, the ball comes out of his hands, probably as well as anyone that we've recruited in the last several years, where he just has a really good feel for playing team basketball.

“And so you don't really have to change a lot. And so we'll just simply use him as a weapon, as a queen on a chessboard, like Derik Queen at Maryland, like Danny Wolf, just guys that can create and make plays. And then obviously Vlad had a lot to do with Danny's success.”