LAS VEGAS — When the Golden State Warriors selected Yaxel Lendeborg with the 11th pick in last month’s NBA Draft, the 23-year-old still couldn’t quite believe it. For a young man rarely at a loss for words, the pick, by one of the league’s premier franchises, was hard to comprehend.“Honestly, I didn’t even have any words,” Lendeborg told The Athletic at the beginning of his Las Vegas Summer League run. “I was just in such shock at the fact that these guys actually took a chance on me. When I worked out here, they were super nice. They were telling me everything I wanted to hear — but a lot of the teams were doing that, so I didn’t know if it was gonna be true or not.“These guys actually believed in me, so I’m like, ‘Man, I really have the opportunity to play in the NBA for a prestigious organization like this.’ It’s like, ‘Damn, I can’t believe this.’ It was just an emotional time for me. The only words I had was just my tears, in a way.”Lendeborg’s emotions were present again Sunday night in the form of a big smile across his face, as he earned Las Vegas Summer League Championship Game MVP honors. Lendeborg, who acknowledged after the draft that he was hopeful the Warriors would take him, finished with 21 points and 10 rebounds in a 94-90 Golden State win over the Memphis Grizzlies and No. 3 pick Cameron Boozer.Now that his dream has become a reality in recent weeks, he’s made a solid first impression on his new team. His shot, the one that helped him become a first-team All-American last season at the University of Michigan, looks ready-made to help immediately. Lendeborg has a comfort level from the outside that usually takes young players years to grow within their respective games.Where will LeBron James end up?The Athletic NBA Staff and Jeshua KiddLendeborg isn’t the typical rookie, given that he will be 24 once the season begins, but he also carries himself differently than most young players in that he doesn’t shy away from the spotlight and isn’t afraid to say whatever is on his mind. There is an ease within his game that he brings to the floor in the way he finds his shot in the rhythm of the offense. He has a laid-back nature off the floor that should serve well within the framework of the Warriors’ veteran-laden locker room.When asked if there was a player he watched as he matured within his own game and hoped he could model himself after, Lendeborg’s answer was the man the Warriors are still hoping to land this season.“I definitely would have to go with LeBron,” Lendeborg said. “He’s been doing that at the highest level since he was, like, 10. And he’s had so much adversity on his back. He’s the reason why I don’t believe that pressure’s real. He said it in an interview, and just the way he said it, it’s, like, maybe it really isn’t real.“Maybe I’m just playing myself with this. He really motivates me.”Like James, Lendeborg uses his physicality to overwhelm smaller opponents at times. That became clear as soon as the 6-foot-9, 240-pound big man debuted in the California Classic earlier this month and showed that there were other NBA-ready facets to his game. He continues to get reps as a secondary playmaker and wants to grow in that role to help take pressure off his new teammates as another option with the ball. His size should also allow him to become more comfortable down low as a rebounder, aside from what he can do offensively.