Mizzou's Big Shot Lendeborg Makes Royal UK Debut in NBA Heat Clash!
Michigan basketball forward Yaxel Lendeborg said Kentucky offered him much more money than Michigan did ahead of his transfer.
Yaxel Lendeborg has had a huge impact for Michigan basketball this season. But according to a recent interview, the Big Ten player of the year could easily have been wearing a different shade of blue this year. In an interview published by the Associated Press , Lendeborg asserted that Kentucky offered him much more money to transfer from UAB to the Wildcats, but that he ultimately chose to play in Ann Arbor.
"They started the number with $7 [million] to $9 [million]," he said. "They were pretty much going off on the route like, ' We’ll pay him anything to get here. ' " SHAWN WINDSOR: Michigan basketball's chance to snap 25-year curse as good as any Lendeborg was the most highly sought-after transfer candidate ahead of the 2025-26 season following his senior year at UAB, where he averaged 17.
7 points and 11. 4 rebounds per game. Lendeborg officially transferred to Michigan in May and has largely lived up to his billing, winning the Big Ten player of the year and first-team All-America honors in 2026.
Though it has not been reported how much the Wolverines are paying Lendeborg, the star forward says Kentucky offered him about three times more money than Michigan did. But Lendeborg told the AP he chose Michigan and coach Dusty May because he was "thinking long term. " "What if I mess up my career because I chased the money instead of a future?