Reported by Tsai Hou-hsuan / Comprehensive Coverage

　　The Golden State Warriors have recently strung together a 6-game winning streak. Besides their franchise star Stephen Curry still playing at an elite level, the 24-year-old "veteran rookie" Yaxel Lendeborg, selected with the 11th overall pick in this year's NBA Draft, has been the biggest surprise. Tim MacMahon, the authoritative ESPN reporter, recently revealed on a show that Lendeborg was even listed as a "top-5 candidate" by a certain team before the draft, but they ultimately backed out due to concerns about his personality and locker room fit, allowing the Warriors to "steal" him with the 11th pick.

　　Born in 2002, Lendeborg spent a full 6 years in the NCAA system during his college career. He entered the draft this year after leading the University of Michigan to a championship. Despite facing some external doubts about his relatively old age when entering the draft, his astonishing wingspan of over 220 cm made him a high-mature ready-made player that the Warriors, who lacked depth at the wing position, targeted as an immediate contributor.

　　After joining the league, Lendeborg quickly silenced the doubts with his performance. He not only led the Warriors to win the Summer League championship, but in the 9 games he has played since the start of the regular season, he has posted top-tier stats of 21.0 points, 7.1 rebounds, 4.1 assists and 1.1 steals per game, with a field goal percentage of 49.2% and a 3-point percentage of 39.6%. Both his explosive ability to break through defenses and his playmaking and passing ability have become an indispensable key piece in the Warriors' recent 6-game winning streak, and he has even strongly entered the discussion for the Rookie of the Year award.

　　How could such an all-around ready-made star fall all the way to the 11th pick before being selected by the Warriors? MacMahon revealed the behind-the-scenes draft secrets on his show "The Hoop Collective".

　　MacMahon pointed out that other teams had high praise for Lendeborg before the draft. "I talked to an insider of a certain team, and that team even ranked Lendeborg as high as the 5th pick on their draft board! They were even actively evaluating trade options to get a top-10 pick to select him," he said.

　　However, that team ultimately held back after careful evaluation. MacMahon explained: "The main reason is that after internal investigation, the team was worried that his distinct personality might not fit their locker room culture. He is indeed not a player suitable for every team's system, but for the Warriors, who have a deep veteran culture and mature system, he is the perfect fit."

　　For rookies, high picks are certainly tempting, but finding a team that can give them a stage to perform and a system that fits is more crucial. The late-blooming Lendeborg, under the Warriors' mature system and the leadership of veterans like Curry and Draymond Green, has fully unlocked his talents on both offense and defense, making Warriors fans call this the most cost-effective pick in the team's draft history.