Yaxel Lendeborg Declares for 2026 NBA Draft, Scouting Report and Landing Spots for Michigan Star

Michigan star Yaxel Lendeborg is out of college eligibility, so it wasn't much of a surprise when he announced Wednesday that he was officially declaring for the 2026 NBA draft.

Lendeborg might have been a first-round pick last June had he stayed in the draft, but he certainly improved his draft stock by returning to college, with B/R's Jonathan Wasserman projecting him to be a "late lottery to mid-first round" selection this time around.

Wasserman compared Lendeborg to Aaron Gordon, writing that while the Denver Nuggets star "has more athletic pop, Lendeborg has a similar body and skill set. And most importantly, he's going to impact games in the same glue-guy role with his versatility at both ends of the floor. He's never going to be a top scoring option. Like Gordon, Lendeborg will play off and complement better creators and shooters."

He called Lendeborg's versatility on both ends of the court and his improved shooting the strengths of his game, while his lack of burst, explosion and self-creation—and his age (23)—were weaknesses.

Lendeborg's ceiling is probably that of a very solid frontcourt role player. While every team needs such players, organizations don't often spend top-10 picks on them. And in a draft plenty of talented freshman, there are enough upside options to push Lendeborg to the back of the lottery, if not later.

But he should have a solid NBA career. The senior forward averaged 14.6 points,  seven rebounds, 3.2 assists, 1.3 blocks and 1.2 steals, shooting 40.9 percent from the field and 35.3 percent from three. He was a consensus All-American, the Big Ten Player of the Year and helped lead Michigan to a national championship.

When Lendeborg comes off the board remains to be seen. But his NBA career essentially starts now.