Warriors NBA Draft war room gets heated moments before selecting star who ‘hated’ Stephen Curry

NBA Draft night wouldn’t be draft night without a little drama, and the Golden State Warriors provided just that on Tuesday.

With their first lottery pick in five years, the Bay Area franchise selected Yaxel Lendeborg at No.11.

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Following a disappointing losing season, which ended with a play-in defeat to the Phoenix Suns in April, the Warriors needed to draft someone NBA ready on Tuesday night.

They settled on 6-foot-9 forward Lendeborg, who averaged 15.1 points, 6.8 rebounds and 3.2 assists for the national champion Michigan Wolverines in 2025.

But the decision, it seems, wasn’t straightforward.

Warriors war room in heated debate over No.11 pick

With Golden State on the clock, ESPN’s broadcast cut to a live feed of their war room, where owner Joe Lacob and general manager Mike Dunleavy Jr. appeared to engage in a rather animated conversation.

There was no clear audio of what the pair were discussing, but many viewers suggested there could have been disagreement over which prospect to select, or whether or not they should trade the pick, as some reports had suggested.

The on-camera clash adds friction for a franchise that has grown more and more unsettled in recent years, and are in win-now mode as they try to extend superstar Stephen Curry’s championship window.

“How tf does this happen?” one fan asked, watching the war room footage.

“Back to the dysfunctional warriors we all comfortable with…” another wrote.

“Nice thing to show no confidence in your pick,” a third said.

“Joke of a franchise absolutely fumbling the end of Curry’s career, he deserves better,” a fourth claimed.

ESPN

ESPN

After the Warriors made their selection, Dunleavy faced reporters, and was asked about what unfolded in the room.

Warriors GM cracks joke over war room incident

“Yeah, we got into it about best golf course in San Francisco,” he said, drawing laughs.

“He didn’t agree with me, which you know, it’s all in the eye to beholder.”

Dunleavy then got serious, and explained what was really behind the debate.

“This is a really strong draft, so I felt like once we got to No.9, 10 or 11, we were going to be anxious to see who falls there.

“But we felt like at 11, no matter what happened, we would get a player.

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“As far as the discussion with Joe and I, at that point, there was probably some talks about trading and things like that.

“But ultimately, we were all in agreement to land on taking Yaxel.

“I think Joe was like, ‘Come on, let’s go ahead and pick the guy!’ And I said, ‘Joe, we’ve got time. Just give me five minutes.’

“He was getting a little anxious about taking Yaxel, and the good thing was because we were on the clock, nobody could swoop in and take him ahead of us.

“I was willing to be patient on it.”

Yaxel Lendeborg says he ‘used to hate’ Steph Curry in candid draft admission

Despite drama in the war room, the Warriors got their guy.

But they probably weren’t expecting him to get so candid when he stepped up to the podium in Brooklyn.

“In 2016, I’m a big Kyrie (Irving) guy,” Lendeborg said, wearing a Golden State cap on Tuesday night.

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“So I used to hate Steph Curry.”

Despite landing on the Cleveland Cavaliers side of the contentious rivalry he watched growing up, Lendeborg believes he’s come full circle with the opportunity to line up alongside the four-time NBA champion he once despised.

“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,” the Michigan star added.

“I’ve met him a couple of times. He’s a very great guy, genuine.

“It’s going to be an honor to be able to watch what he does in person.”

The Warriors selected 23-year-old Lendeborg to help them win now, and if all goes well, he could help put Curry in a position to win a fifth ring — which would extend his lead over Kyrie to four.

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