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Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green said on The Draymond Green Show that rookie Yaxel Lendeborg should go back and watch the Detroit Pistons’ Bad Boys teams before comparing this season’s Warriors to them. Green said he saw Lendeborg make the comparison during Golden State’s eight-game winning streak. The Warriors started the season 0-3 and have won eight straight, including a 138-87 win over the New Orleans Pelicans on Monday that completed a 6-0 homestand.
“I would warn Yaxel he should go watch those Bad Boys Pistons,” Green said. “I don’t think we’re quite close to who those Bad Boys Pistons were. But I think any team that’s going to have any shot at being a good team has to have an edge. And I think last year we didn’t have much of an edge at all. We were a pretty s— team.”
“This year I think we have a lot more of an edge than we’ve had. And by the way, don’t think that that does not aid in winning. That definitely aids in winning,” Green said. “And so you find me a team with no edge, and they’re talented, I’ll show you a very soft team that will never win. You must have an edge. Albeit, I don’t think we are anywhere near the Bad Boys Pistons. That was just a different level of combat, if you will. I don’t think we’re anywhere near that level, but I get what Yax is getting at.”
Draymond Green Calls Yaxel Lendeborg A Future Star
Golden State drafted Lendeborg 11th overall in June, according to the San Francisco Standard, after he helped Michigan win the national championship, per NBC Bay Area. In his NBA debut, a 127-105 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers on Oct. 21, he traded words with Luka Dončić and said afterward he had “lost all respect” for him, per NBC Sports Bay Area. Before the season, Green called Lendeborg the next face of the franchise in a conversation with Taylor Rooks, NBC Bay Area reported.
Lendeborg was the 2025-26 Big Ten Player of the Year, according to GBMWolverine. Golden State won the Las Vegas Summer League title with him in July, beating No. 3 pick Cameron Boozer and the Memphis Grizzlies 94-90 in the championship game, according to NBC Bay Area. Warriors coach Steve Kerr started him in the preseason opener in a lineup that included Stephen Curry, Brandin Podziemski, and Green, per NBC Sports Bay Area. Lendeborg later said he would not take media training, per NBC Sports Bay Area.
“What I will say to Yax is, young fella gonna be a star. He gonna be a real star in this league,” Green said. “We don’t need Yaxel getting ejected. He’s very important and vital to our team, so we definitely don’t need him getting ejected. As I said, we got guys that can handle that.”
Lendeborg had 23 points, 7 rebounds, and 4 assists in Monday’s win over New Orleans, according to The Associated Press. Green was ejected from a game against the Phoenix Suns earlier this season, a night he discussed on a previous episode of his show, according to the show’s Apple Podcasts listing.
“I’ll be honest with you, Yaxel, I’m gonna cross my fingers on this one. I don’t think I have two more ejections in me,” Green said. “At least I hope not. Obviously, things happen. S— happens. But let’s hope not yet.”
Draymond Green Turns Down Yaxel Lendeborg’s Michigan Bet
Green played at Michigan State under Tom Izzo. Lendeborg played two seasons at UAB, in 2023-24 and 2024-25, before transferring to Michigan, according to his Michigan and UAB roster profiles. Michigan swept the 2026 regular-season basketball series against Michigan State, per NBC Bay Area. Green said Lendeborg proposed a bet on a Michigan-Michigan State game that would have put Green in Michigan gear if he lost.
“When you make a bet, there’s a 50-50 chance that you’re gonna lose, and that’s too high of a percentage for me to possibly have to put on some scum bum gear,” Green said. “But Yax, I’m here for you.”
“You want to put on the green and white, brother. I got plenty green and white here for you,” Green said. “You ain’t gotta lose a bet actually to put it on. I’ll just give you the green and white, brother.”
Green also said he has no control over the outcome of the game, one of his reasons for declining. He said the Michigan State gear is already available to Lendeborg without a bet, and that wearing Michigan gear would feel like pouring acid on his skin. Green and Lendeborg traded jabs on Instagram after the Warriors drafted him in June, per NBC Bay Area. Golden State opens a five-game road trip at the Houston Rockets on Wednesday.
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