SAN FRANCISCO -- Michigan wing Yaxel Lendeborg was 13 years old in 2016, another teenage NBA fan debating his friends about his favorite side of the increasingly contentious rivalry between the Cleveland Cavaliers and Golden State Warriors.
"I'm a big Kyrie [Irving] guy," Lendeborg said. "So I used to hate Steph Curry."
Lendeborg made this admission a decade later on a podium in Brooklyn, wearing a Warriors hat after the organization selected him No. 11 in the NBA draft and made him Curry's newest teammate. He called it a "full circle" moment.
"Now that I'm actually going to be able to be on the same team with him, play and actually learn so much from him, it means a lot," Lendeborg said. "He's a very great guy, genuine person. It's going to be an honor to be able to watch what he does in person."