Apricot's NBA Draft Tourney Group 4: Yaxel Lendeborg, Brayden Burries, Ebuka Okorie
The Group of Death
Here are all the Draft Tournaments and Live Draft Day threads since 2020. The 2026 page describes how the field was chosen, analyzes the relevance of BPM and other gory details.
Why do we do this Draft Tournament?
The tournament is designed for people who are not draft experts to catch up at a casual pace on prospects in the Warriors range. For this reason, I have sliced it up into a series of smaller votes instead of a massive 16+ player scouting report. These will be spaced out over the next few weeks until the NBA Draft.
The ultimate goal is for you to develop opinions and attachments about the different prospects, so you can
argue with others,
dream about the future,
enjoy the draft with more suspense and emotional investment,
be angry that your favorite wasn’t selected,
and then in the future tell everyone how you had it right and the drafters were a bunch of idiots.
Despite our stellar track record, it’s unlikely we’ll guess exactly whom the Warriors will draft.
And yes yes everyone always wants to trade the pick for someone ready to contribute. Please don’t be obvious and boring and suggest that.
The reason we don’t contemplate this possibility is that there is absolutely no good way to tell trades are possible and what is fan fantasy. I have a low opinion of people making up trades and complaining they haven’t happened.
How To Vote
Simply vote in this embedded poll. If you are moved, you can make a COMMENT VOTE that counts as 10 votes. However, I will not count any vote unless it has
some justification of your vote
exactly one hashtag with the last name of your candidate, like #CURRY, #GREEN, #THOMPSON.
I know many of you are very creative, but any deviations from these instructions will make my life harder and annoy me. Please channel your creativity elsewhere.
The scouting reports
Yaxel Lendeborg
Avg: 12.43 | Range: 12–14 | Draftballr | B-Ref
Height: 6-9 | Position: SF/PF | College: Michigan | PPG: 15.1 | RPG: 6.8 | APG: 3.2
Bleacher Report Pick 13
NBA teams won’t put much stock into Yaxel Lendeborg’s NBA combine performance or workouts. There is enough tape of his versatility and gradual improvement as a shooter and defender, and there is clearly enough evidence of high-impact minutes after his national championship run at Michigan.
ESPN Pick 12
The Thunder have a roster crunch to solve for this offseason, holding team options on Luguentz Dort, Isaiah Hartenstein and Kenrich Williams, as well as two first-round picks (they also have No. 17). Picking up all three would put them at 15 players, barring another consolidation trade. The Thunder figure to make at least one of those selections, adding cost-controlled young depth to their 64-win team.
Where Lendeborg hears his name called will be a fascinating case study of how NBA teams choose to factor in his age: Although he will be a 24-year-old rookie, he is a rare talent, given his center-sized dimensions, perimeter skill, and ability to guard all five positions. His trajectory as a late-blooming player who arguably has just begun to scratch the surface of his ability is another part of the evaluation. He will be in play inside the top 10 as an NBA-ready option, and might not make it out of the lottery.
The Athletic Pick 12
Even though Lendeborg gutted through an ankle injury in the Final Four, he led Michigan to a title and transformed his game. His counting numbers were down from his heights at UAB, but he averaged 15.1 points, 6.8 rebounds and 3.2 assists while playing aggressive defense. He showcased serious switchability, often picking up lead ballhandlers at the point of attack as well as playing against power forwards when Mara or Morez Johnson Jr. would leave the court. He’s also an active help defender with excellent hands.
He drilled 37.4 percent of his 3s for the season, thanks to a hot streak at the end of the year in which he made 48.1 percent over his final 16 games — and that includes a 0-of-5 mark when he was clearly hobbled against UConn in the title game. Lendeborg tracks for Oklahoma City as a long, physical player with two-way acumen, something the Thunder are always on the lookout for. Don’t be surprised to see Oklahoma City try to consolidate some pick capital and move up in this class, either.
Brayden Burries
Avg: 9.71 | Range: 5–14 | Draftballr | B-Ref
Height: 6’4 | Position: SG | College: Arizona | PPG: 16.1 | RPG: 4.9 | APG: 2.4
Bleacher Report Pick 9
Brayden Burries could have only helped himself at the NBA combine after measuring an inch taller than expected with a 215-pound frame and strong athletic-testing results.
In the late-lottery, he’ll enter the best-player-available conversation for his physical, downhill attacking, three-level shotmaking, strong defensive tools and knack for scoring without needing heavy usage.
ESPN Pick 11
Steve Kerr’s decision to return to the Warriors is a fair indicator that Golden State doesn’t plan to rebuild in the near future, but this pick gives it a chance to get younger and deeper. Long-term injuries to Jimmy Butler III and Moses Moody mean the Warriors will be extremely light on the perimeter to open next season, which could be a consideration here. GM Mike Dunleavy also told reporters this week that Golden State would consider moving around in the draft.
Burries is drawing looks inside the top 10 but could also end up being the guard who falls. He would be a solid fit for the Warriors in this scenario. His dimensions will play up better on the ball than at the two, but his sturdy build should also help him defend wings. The fact he’s a year older than some of the other freshmen and somewhat caught between positions based on tools makes him more of a back-half lottery option.
The Athletic Pick 9
Burries was the leading scorer on one of the top three teams in the country, despite a slow start that saw him average just 7.8 points in his first five games. From that point, he averaged 17.3 points while shooting 51 percent from the field, 41 percent from 3 and 81 percent from the foul line in his final 34 games. He’s also an aggressive rebounder who grabbed 5.5 boards per game in that time, while averaging 2.4 assists as a solid ball mover who didn’t take many bad shots.
The question is about separating from his man consistently, as he’s more of a power guard who uses the threat of his shot to keep defenders off-balance. Burries turned into a really good defender by the end of the year and averaged 1.5 steals. For Dallas, Burries would be a terrific complement to Cooper Flagg and Kyrie Irving as they look to make a jump next year.
Ebuka Okorie
Avg: 20.57 | Range: 16–23 | Draftballr | B-Ref
Height: 6’2” | Position: PG | College: Stanford | PPG: 23.2 | RPG: 3.6 | APG: 3.6
Bleacher Report Pick 16
Ebuka Okorie is drawing interest from late-lottery teams with workouts for the Atlanta Hawks, Dallas Mavericks and Chicago Bulls.
Measuring at 6’1.25”, 186 pounds with a 6’7.75” wingspan was considered a win for the freshman. He avoided red flags about his size, which scouts were somewhat worried about entering the combine.
After finishing seventh in the nation in scoring as a freshman, confidence in his creation, rim pressure and shotmaking reached a more serious level. There is some hesitation around a smaller ball-handler who wasn’t a dynamic playmaker, but in the teens or 20s, there will still be interest in a guard who can easily break down defenses, create advantages and catch fire around the perimeter.
ESPN Pick 23
Okorie told reporters at the combine that he has decided to stay in the draft, after bursting onto the scene in what became a surprise one-and-done season at Stanford. Although he’s on the smaller side for a point guard and more of a scorer than playmaker, teams have largely come to view him as a first-round talent, thanks to his long-range shooting and lightning-quick first step. He measured with a plus-6½ wingspan that will help his case, and will attempt to work his way up the board in a strong point guard class in the coming weeks.
If the Hawks decide not to select a point guard in the lottery, they might be able to find value later in the draft here because of the considerable depth and quality available at the position. Though Okorie might project better as a bench scorer than a long-term starter, the fact that he recently turned 19 gives him upside left to tap into at the NBA level.
The Athletic Pick 28
The Timberwolves tried to make Rob Dillingham work in a draft day trade that ultimately didn’t work out, so let’s give them another shot at the lead guard position with a dynamic athlete and creator next to Anthony Edwards. I’m a buyer on Okorie’s ability with the ball in his hands. He’s constantly in attack mode, averaging 23.2 points per game as a freshman while shooting solid clips of 46.5 percent from the field, 35.4 percent from 3 and 83.2 percent from the line. He’s lightning quick, with the ability to zoom in and out of tight windows in the paint. He drives an immense amount of shots at the rim thanks to that ability to slink through the little cracks in the defense.
So why isn’t he higher? Well, he only made 52 percent of those shots at the rim in half-court settings, per Synergy, meaning he wasn’t wildly effective when he got there. He also averaged 7.3 free-throw attempts per game to make himself efficient. While he shot that solid mark from 3, teams want to see more of him as a shooter. Still, I’m betting Okorie has an impressive pre-draft process, if only because it’s hard to imagine a player more well-suited to three-on-three workouts like the ones that NBA teams employ.