[Video] Warriors Rookie Yaxel Lendeborg Hands His Mom the Keys to a New California Home: She Tears Up on the Spot
Golden State Warriors rookie Yaxel Lendeborg posted the first video on his new YouTube channel on Friday, November 6, titled "This one's for Mama Yax," surprising his mother, Yissel Raposo, with a new home in California. Raposo had been living in New Jersey, where Lendeborg grew up, and the house will let her complete her move to California, closer to her son.
In the video, friends and family gathered in front of the house before Lendeborg handed his mother a box and said: "On behalf of everybody that came to show up, welcome home." According to ESPN, Raposo was speechless and teary-eyed as she took the keys out of the box, opened the door and walked through her new home with her son. Lendeborg said it took two to three months to secure the house; according to USA Today, to keep the surprise, he and his sister often disguised their phone conversations about the house as talk about a trip to Hawaii. He later posted on X: "Lifelong goal has finally been accomplished. Blessed!"
In the video description, 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. She deserves it all. For me, it's bigger than basketball. It's about making sure the people who believed in me get to enjoy the blessings too."
The bond goes back years. According to ESPN, Lendeborg wrote a story for The Players' Tribune in February titled "How My Mom Saved My Life." It described how, during his senior year of high school in 2019, his mother told him, "There's no more time to mess around," and how he needed to take 10 community-college courses in one year to graduate; at first he resisted, but her expression changed everything, and he wrote that she had pretty much saved his life. According to USA Today, Raposo worked multiple jobs to raise him and his sisters and also battled Stage 4 appendix cancer; in a June interview after the draft, Lendeborg said: "She put her whole life on hold for my life and I'm super proud of her for fighting so hard and I'm glad we get to share this moment together."
Warriors head coach Steve Kerr said he saw the video on the morning of November 7 and called the gesture "incredible." Kerr said: "Just such a heartwarming moment. It's life-changing for these guys to make the NBA. Life-changing for them and their families. You always love to see someone like Yaxel taking care of his mom. Taking care of his family." On November 8, talking to reporters about the purchase in comments shared by KNBR on X, Lendeborg said that while house-hunting he kept thinking, "Man, this is crazy. I'm really able to do this. I'm really going to be able to give her keys," adding that it felt like he had "truly made it" and was something he would never forget.
On the court, Lendeborg has been a bright spot for Golden State: the 24-year-old was drafted 11th overall by the Warriors in June, and according to USA Today he is averaging 21.2 points, 7.2 rebounds and 4.0 assists through his first 10 games, including a 37-point game on November 1 and 23 points in the Warriors' 126-119 win over the Orlando Magic on November 7.
Source: ESPN
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：Yaxel Lendeborg资料图，2026年2月身穿密歇根大学23号球衣出赛，右侧为西北大学球员Nick Martinelli（TonyTheTiger摄，CC0，经Wikimedia Commons）。/ File photo: Yaxel Lendeborg in a Michigan No. 23 jersey in February 2026, with Northwestern's Nick Martinelli at right (by TonyTheTiger, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons).
