Takeaways from Warriors' summer league title game win over Grizzlies

Golden State Warriors On SI · Jul 20, 2026 03:14 · 2 min read

Takeaways from Warriors' Summer League Title Game Win Over Grizzlies — Yaxel Lendeborg | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Lendeborg's performance in the clutch is among the takeaways from Sunday's game

The Golden State Warriors are Las Vegas Summer League champions.

They stormed back from a 10-point fourth-quarter deficit to win 94-90.

It marks their first summer league championship since Draymond Green and Ian Clark led them to one in 2013.

Yaxel Lendeborg and Deivon Smith tied for a game high with 21 points.

For the Grizzlies, Cameron Boozer and Cedric Coward had a team-high-tying 19 points.

Here are two takeaways from Sunday's game.

Lendeborg Was Not Afraid of the Big Moments

Lendeborg had an excellent game overall with 21 points (9-of-18 shooting), 10 rebounds, two assists and two steals.

But what stood out most was his performance down the stretch.

With the Warriors trailing 87-84 with three minutes left, Lendeborg went on a personal 7-0 run.

He hit a floater, then rocked into a three, and then hit a pull-up jumper.

For someone whose jump shooting was one of his main question marks going into the draft, he's looking quite comfortable on the perimeter.

Back in the first half, he had a driving layup on Boozer late in the shot clock. He got fouled as well and made the free throw for a three-point play.

Over the course of summer league, Lendeborg showed he's ready to play in the NBA immediately.

He was named Summer League MVP, which hasn't always been a great omen historically, but last year it went to rookie sensation Kon Knueppel.

Smith Gives Warriors Another Player They Should Want to Keep

After Saturday's game, I wrote that the Warriors should try to keep LJ Cryer, Graham Ike, Lajae Jones and Malevy Leons. It's likely three of them would get two-way contracts, meaning one would have to get a standard contract.

Now the Warriors have to figure out what to do with Deivon Smith.

Smith was brilliant, finishing with 21 points (9-of-14 shooting), nine rebounds and three assists. He hadn't stood out much in Vegas to this point, but his performance was no fluke.

Playing with the Santa Cruz Warriors last season, Smith had two triple-doubles and three 20-plus-point scoring performances in nine games.

The only possible downside of winning a summer league championship is having your players poached.

My guess is the Warriors will not protect Smith with a two-way contract, but if they value him more than Leons, they should.