Warriors rookie Yaxel Lendeborg surprises his mother with a new home in California

Ten games into his NBA career, Golden State Warriors rookie Yaxel Lendeborg has bought his mother a house. He posted a video on his YouTube channel Friday showing him handing Yissel Raposo the keys to a home in California, ESPN reported. The house finishes her move from New Jersey, where Lendeborg grew up, to be near the team that drafted him.

In the video, family and friends wait outside the house while Lendeborg gives his mother a box with the key inside and welcomes her home. She walks in with him, close to tears. Lendeborg said the purchase took two to three months to complete. USA TODAY Sports reported that he and his sister kept it a secret by pretending, on phone calls, that they were planning a trip to Hawaii. On X, Lendeborg called the moment a lifelong goal reached.

The story goes back years. Last February, Lendeborg wrote a Players' Tribune piece crediting his mother with turning his life around during his senior year of high school, when he had to finish 10 community college courses in a year to graduate. That essay also described her fight with Stage 4 appendix cancer, according to Bleacher Report. USA TODAY Sports reported that she worked several jobs to support him and his sisters. From there, Lendeborg played three seasons at Arizona Western, a community college in Yuma, and two at UAB, then spent a graduate year at Michigan that ended with a national title. The Warriors took him 11th overall in June.

Steve Kerr said he watched the video Saturday morning before Golden State played Orlando. "Just such a heartwarming moment," the coach said, according to USA TODAY Sports. Kerr added that reaching the NBA changes life for players and their families.

Lendeborg has made an immediate impact on the court. He has started every game, and Bleacher Report noted that only Stephen Curry outscores him on the team. Against the Magic he scored 23 points on 9-of-15 shooting, with eight rebounds and three blocks. USA TODAY Sports has him averaging 21.2 points, 7.2 rebounds and 4.0 assists through 10 games. That stretch includes a 37-point game against the Clippers on Nov. 1.

What it means for Monday against New Orleans

The 126-119 win over Orlando moved the Warriors to 7-3 and extended their winning streak to seven games. They have not lost since a 131-122 defeat at Phoenix. The run includes road wins at Denver (134-114) and Minnesota (119-114) and a 116-113 home win over the Suns. That 0-3 start, with losses to the Lakers, Memphis and Phoenix, now looks a long way back.

Next up is the New Orleans Pelicans at Chase Center on Monday, Nov. 9, on NBA TV. The Warriors have won four straight at home and have scored at least 116 points in five of the seven wins. Lendeborg has been a big part of that scoring. He has also gone from a draft-night hug to a moving day for his mother in less than six months, and the Warriors will look for him to keep producing as they try to make the streak eight.