Takeaways from Warriors' Summer League Semifinals Win Over Lakers

Spurred by great defense down the stretch from Will Richard and Yaxel Lendeborg, the Golden State Warriors held on for a 92-88 win over the Lakers in the Las Vegas Summer League semfinals.

The Warrirors will play the Grizzlies in the championship game on Sunday.

LJ Cryer and Graham Ike tied for a team-high 16 points, while Lendeborg chipped in with 15.

For the Lakers, Adou Thiero had a game-high 18 points, and Cameron Carr added 17.

Here are two takeaways from Saturday's win.

Lendeborg Was Most Impactful Rookie on the Court

In my preview for this game, I questioned whether Lendeborg had the conditioning to be impactful after looking winded at times over the last two summer-league games.

Lendeborg has admitted that he's not in game shape, but he answered the call down the stretch anyway on Saturday.

With the Warriors leading by three with 77 seconds to go, Cryer had a live-ball turnover that gave the Lakers a numbers advantage in transition. Lendeborg essentially baited Chris Manon to go for a lefty layup, and when he did, Lendeborg swatted it. The ball actually went off Manon and should have been awarded to the Warriors, but the refs missed the call.

With the Warriors up one with 21 seconds left, Manon tried to drive in between Cryer and Lendeborg, and he was stripped. The official box score has given the steal to Cryer, but both seemed to get their hands on it.

Lendeborg did make a big mistake, fouling Manon on a three with nine seconds to go. Manon could've tied the game by making all three free throws, but he missed one, and the Warriors held on from there.

In the fourth quarter, Lendeborg went 2-of-2 with seven points, and overall he was an efficient 5-of-8 from the field. He also had four rebounds, three assists, two blocks, one steal and just one turnover.

In contrast, fellow 2026 first-round pick Cameron Carr outscored Lendeborg with 17 points, but he was 5-of-16 from the floor with three rebounds, one assist, no blocks, no steals and one turnover.

Lendeborg outplayed Carr, and if it weren't for Adou Thiero (18 points on 6-of-6 shooting), he would have claimed my award for the game's most impactful player.

Ike Strengthens Two-Way Contract Case

The Warriors will likely use all three two-way roster spots on players currently on their summer-league team.

I have speculated that the following five players are battling for three spots:

- Cryer (currently on a two-way deal)
- Lajae Jones
- Ike
- Malevy Leons (currently on a two-way deal)
- Lachlan Olbrich

Olbrich has probably played himself out of consideration. He had just two points in 12 minutes on Saturday.

Ike, meanwhile, has bolstered his case.

He had 16 points (6-of-10 shooting) and 11 rebounds.

What's been most impressive about Ike in summer league is his feathery touch outside the paint. He had a 10-foot turnaround jump shot in the fourth quarter that not many big men in the NBA have in their arsenal. He also had a deep two late in the shot clock of the Warriors' loss to the Grizzlies.

Golden State's decision-makers would likely love to keep Cryer, Jones, Ike and Leons. After Saturday, it feels like they will find a way to keep all four, likely meaning they'll give one of them a standard contract.

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