Golden State Warriors rookie Yaxel Lendeborg surprised his mother with a house in California, posting a YouTube video Friday titled: “This one’s for Mama Yax.” The move was intended to help his mother complete a relocation from New Jersey, where Lendeborg grew up, to California.
In February, Lendeborg wrote a piece for The Players’ Tribune titled “How My Mom Saved My Life,” detailing a 2019 conversation with his mother, Yissel Raposo, during his senior year of high school. Raposo told him, “There’s no more time to mess around,” as he faced the task of taking 10 community college courses in one year to graduate. Lendeborg wrote that his mother “pretty much” saved his life.
The surprise gathering in front of the home included friends and family. In the video, Lendeborg handed his mother a box, said “Welcome home,” and she removed a key, opened the door and walked into the house while appearing teary-eyed. Lendeborg said it took “two to three” months to secure the home and added on X: “Lifelong goal has finally been accomplished. Blessed!” In the video’s caption he wrote: “There is no gesture big enough to properly say thank you for all the love, sacrifice, and support my mom has poured into me but this moment was pretty special and one I’ll never forget.”
Lendeborg has enjoyed early on-court success with the Warriors. Through nine games, he is averaging 21 points, 7.1 rebounds and 4.1 assists, including a 37-point performance on Nov. 1.
The 24-year-old’s path to the NBA included three seasons at Arizona Western, a community college in Yuma, followed by two seasons at UAB. He transferred as a graduate student in 2025 to Michigan, where he averaged 15.1 points and 6.8 rebounds to help the Wolverines win the national title. Lendeborg and his mother shared an emotional moment on draft night after the Warriors selected him No. 11; he recalled her saying, “we did it.” Half a year later, she was given a new home.
