Through a handful of games, Warriors’ forward Yaxel Lendeborg is having one of the best starts to a rookie season we’ve seen in some time.

Drafted at No. 11, Lendeborg was already expected to hit the ground running, having recently turned 24. Additionally, the Warriors were in dire need of talent prior to his drafting, and it was easy to project a large role for the versatile two-way product.

Despite that, few could have predicted just how good he’d be through his first five games.

In his first five NBA games, he’s gone for 22.6 points on 48% shooting, hitting on 36% of his 3-pointers. Even more than his scoring output — which has been a necessity for Golden State — he’s added 9.2 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 1.0 steals per game. All in all, his minutes have been positive, despite the team’s record at 2-3.

Lendeborg has been a revelation for the Warriors, who still stand between a few different timelines with superstar Stephen Curry at the helm.

The team has long seen a dual timeline, with two of its best and most prestigious players in Curry and Draymond Green at 38 and 36, respectively. On the other side, players like Brandin Podziemski, Gui Santos, and now Lendeborg are all on the younger side, relative to the NBA as a whole.

Despite a sort of waffling between talent timelines, Lendeborg is more than welcome for the Warriors’ from a team-building perspective. He fits how they play in transition, is already leading the team in rebounding by a significant margin, and is among the top play-makers on the team already.

Defensively, the team has lacked some identity, with scorers and Green no longer functioning as an All-Defense-level player, and Lendeborg has been able to infuse that end of the floor as well.

Should Lendeborg maintain his production, he'll likely be the runaway favorite for the Rookie of the Year Award. Only Kings' rookie Darius Acuff Jr. has been able to maintain a similar scoring output, though on far less efficiency and an even worse Western Conference team.

Having played five seasons of college basketball, there's no guarantee that Lendeborg gets drastically better through the first few seasons of his NBA career, though the Warriors won't need him to if the production through his first five is to be believed.

Lendeborg and the Warriors will next face off against the Clippers on Sunday, Nov. 1 at 7:30 p.m.