Yaxel Lendeborg Drops Candid Quote About Serving as Warriors' No. 1 Option After Steph Curry Injury

Yaxel Lendeborg has shown tremendous confidence already as a rookie, but he is also self-aware enough to know the pressure that comes with needing to be the No. 1 scoring option for the Golden State Warriors with Stephen Curry injured.

Speaking to reporters during Friday's shootaround, Lendeborg explained his confidence level is at a "six out of 10" believing he can fulfill Curry's big shoes and the remaining points have him wondering "am I going to be able to live up to it?"

Curry is expected to miss around one month after the Warriors announced he suffered an oblique abdominal tear. The injury occurred in the first quarter of Golden State's 115-108 loss to the Houston Rockets on Wednesday.

This will be the first extended absence of the season for Curry. He previously sat out two games on Oct. 24 and Nov. 1 since they were on either end of a back-to-back.

Curry was having one of his best starts to a season in years before the injury. He averaged 30.6 points on 45.7 percent three-point shooting, 4.3 assists and 4.1 rebounds per game in his first nine games.

If there is a reason for Lendeborg to be confident, his numbers in the two games Curry missed suggest he is capable of handling a bigger role. He put up 26 points, nine rebounds and five assists against the Phoenix Suns on Oct. 24.

The Nov. 1 game against the Los Angeles Clippers saw Lendeborg set a career-high with 37 points on 13-of-19 shooting in 34 minutes. He also tied his career-high with six assists in the 124-112 win.

Friday night will be a much tougher test for Lendeborg than those previous two games because the Warriors are facing Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs at Frost Bank Center.

Lendeborg entered the NBA as an older rookie at 24 years old. He has looked ready for every task that has come his way thus far, so there's no reason to think he will be intimidated by this moment.