Michigan Wolverines forward Yaxel Lendeborg made history during his final year of collegiate hoops last season, with four-time NBA champion Larry Bird the only other player to have achieved the feat.
Lendeborg joins Bird as the only two players in NCAA D1 history to have tallied 600 points, 400 rebounds, and 150 assists in just one single season. Before becoming an NBA legend with the Boston Celtics, Bird played college basketball for the Indiana State Sycamores from 1976 to 1979, during which he achieved the accomplishment in one of his seasons.
With reports coming out of Lendeborg joining Bird, this can tremendously boost his stock for this year’s NBA Draft. Currently, Lendeborg has declared for the draft and is going through the combine.
“Yaxel Lendeborg and Larry Bird are the only 2 college basketball players to ever have 600 points, 400 rebounds and 150 assists in a single season. #GoBlue,” @swankywolverine on Instagram captioned.
– @swankywolverine on Instagram, May, 13, 2026
To add to Lendeborg’s impressive 2025-26 campaign, he led coach Dusty May’s Michigan-based program to the 2026 national championship. They did so by defeating coach Dan Hurley’s UConn Huskies by six points, 69-63, this past April. This was the Wolverines’ second NCAA title in program history, and came 37 years after their first one in 1989. Lendeborg spent just one season at Michigan.
Staying one more year with the Michigan Wolverines helped Yaxel Lendeborg prepare for the NBA
In an interview during the 2026 NBA Draft Combine on YouTube on Friday, May 14, Yaxel Lendeborg was asked about his decision to play a fifth year of college basketball. Rumblings of Lendeborg declaring for the draft have been going on for years now.
But ahead of the 2025-26 season, he decided to stay in college to play for the Michigan Wolverines. This decision helped Lendeborg prepare for the NBA, according to him.
“Well, I feel like that was the best decision I made for me and my future. You know, when I went and I decided to go back to Michigan, it was to develop better habits and become a better pro. So when I get here next year, you know, I’m feeling a lot more comfortable and ready, and (I) feel like it really worked out. Everything went well and fell into place,” Lendeborg shared. (0:09)
Also Read:
Yaxel Lendeborg Receives “Warrior” Tag from Stephen A. Smith After Heroic Effort Despite Injury
Magic Johnson vs. Larry Bird: Revisiting Rivalry That Changed Basketball Forever
Ahead of the NBA Draft, Yaxel Lendeborg Names Cooper Flagg And AJ Dybantsa for an Exciting Reason
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