Warriors fans are losing their collective mind over Yaxel Lendeborg, who continued to one-up himself on Sunday in leading Golden State to a win over the Clippers without Stephen Curry and Draymond Green. It was a completely outrageous performance: 37 points in 34 minutes on 68% shooting, including six 3-pointers. 

The rookie added six assists. Threw in four boards and a steal for fun. What this guy has done over his first two NBA weeks is almost beyond comprehension. We're talking about the only rookie in NBA history other than Larry Bird to card at least 100 points, 40 rebounds and 20 assists through his first five games. 

His sixth career game was his lone stinker. Luka Dončić gave him a proper hazing. But Lendeborg got right back on the horse on Sunday to become the fourth rookie in history to post 37 and five in a single game on 85% true shooting. Those 37 points are the most scored in a single game by a Warriors rookie since Curry had 42 in 2010, and Lendeborg now ranks as just the third Warriors rookie to average north of 20 PPG (22.3) over the first seven games of his career. The other two are Wilt Chamberlain and Rick Barry. Not bad company. 

"That was a huge letdown last game," Lendeborg said of putting his foot in his mouth against the Lakers during his postgame interview. "I just try not to be a letdown again, honestly. I know I've got to keep my confidence no matter what goes on, good or bad game. And I just got to start playing with the joy that I played with the last six years of college and now here. So I'm just continuing to try to keep playing with a smile on my face, maybe throw a little dance move like Steph every once in a while. But I'm gonna just keep trying to find my joy." 

Joy is an understatement. This dude's got Dub Nation flying. When I was growing up, there was a great song by Garth Brooks called "Unanswered Prayers," and I thought of it on Sunday as I watched Yaxel burying shot after shot from just about every spot and in every fashion possible, because I'll tell you this: a lot of Warriors fans are thanking the basketball gods that their pissed-off prayers to trade this summer's No. 11 pick fell on Dunleavy's deaf ears. 

I mean, look at this guy, in his second week as a pro, chewing the Clippers up like a total 1A alpha. 

"He's playing this way and he really doesn't know the NBA game yet," Warriors coach Steve Kerr said after Sunday's game. "The game is still really fast for him, but he's so skilled and so talented that he's making all kinds of plays out there. It's remarkable the impact he's having on these games in the first couple weeks of the season."

Look at that reel. This is a rookie doing all these things. Scoring one-on-one. Bullying defenders in the paint. Going by them off the dribble. Drawing two and dishing. Running the floor like a Hummer. With Curry out, Lendeborg served as Golden State's point guard, which he said he's "always wanted to be." He calmed possessions like a veteran. Ran pick-and-roll as both handler and screener. Did it all while committing just two turnovers, which, during what has otherwise been an almost perfect first NBA impression, has registered as a slight hiccup. 

And then there's the shooting. Specifically, the pull-up shooting from 3. It's one thing for a guy who size to be a spot-up threat, but this stuff off the dribble, in Kerr's words, "changes everything" in terms of Yaxel's potential. 

"We knew he was a good shooter," Kerr said. "When he came in to work out, you could see the skill in terms of being able to put it on the floor and pull up and shoot, but I didn't expect what I saw tonight." 

Frankly, you can remove the "tonight" from that answer. Anyone who says they expected anything close to what we've seen from Lendeborg at any point over these first seven games is a stone-cold liar. This dude is giving life to an old, decaying team that everyone left for dead this summer, and certainly after starting the year 0-3. The energy after four straight wins is undeniable. And now you have to wonder if the Warriors' front office has a mind to get aggressive on the trade market rather than waiting for their cap space to open this summer. 

Because the simple truth is that Curry remains the best player in the world on any given night. Maybe that fact alone wasn't enough to justify putting the pedal down on this season before Yaxel emerged as a total beast, but now that he has, and with Jimmy Butler set to come back some time after the first of the year, this is a team that can really compete with another piece. They have the Draymond Green and Kristaps Porzingis contracts. They have the draft capital. They have Butler on an expiring deal if they want to go that route. The only question is, do they have the nerve?