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CHICAGO -- Michigan star Yaxel Lendeborg is a bit of a different cat. 

Lendeborg will flip on cartoons like SpongeBob or Tom and Jerry in Michigan's locker room. His go-to tradition is donning teammates' jerseys in pregame warm-ups, and they all have subplots that are impossible to hide. When Michigan played Ohio State, Lendeborg donned No. 11 for Roddy Gayle, who transferred from Ohio State to Michigan in 2024. When Michigan played Illinois, Lendeborg wore a No. 21 jersey for Morez Johnson, who started a kerfuffle by transferring from the Illini to Michigan in 2025.

Lendeborg, a likely future lottery pick, ducks no smoke. In some ways, he invites it with claims that Kentucky offered "7 to 9 million" last spring. Wildcats coach Mark Pope refuted that. On Thursday, Lendeborg said he was "kind of hurt" that Alabama did not recruit him even though he was the best player in the transfer portal in Nate Oats' backyard at UAB. The one problem? Oats had refuted that … less than an hour earlier.

"Don't tell Yaxel, but they did try to recruit him," said Michigan coach Dusty May, who has been tight with Oats for over two decades.

Lendeborg is just different. Oh, and he also owns one of the coldest nicknames in all of college basketball: Dominican LeBron.

The evolution of a King-sized nickname

"In the summer and in the fall, we just saw the dunks that he would have in transition or even in a half-court, and it just was reminiscent of LeBron," Michigan senior guard Nimari Burnett says. "We were like, 'Alright, he wears 23. He dunks like LeBron. He's Dominican.' I feel like it was the perfect nickname. It wasn't my idea. I think it was LJ Cason. So you'll have to ask the originator."

Cason harkens back to a preseason practice when Lendeborg blocked a shot on one end, flew down to the floor and delivered an absurd rack-attack. Simple as that.

"There's no way I can fill LeBron's shoes because of that play," Lendeborg said. "But if there are no Dominicans who are close to LeBron, I'll gladly take that title."

Lendeborg was born in Puerto Rico to basketball-playing parents of Dominican descent. His family moved to the United States when he was a toddler. 

Comparing anyone to the King can feel like a bridge too far, but Lendeborg does does everything for Michigan the same way James did for Miami and then Cleveland at the peak of his powers. The Big Ten Player of the Year, Lendeborg stuffs the stat sheet, averaging 14.7 points, 6.9 rebounds and 3.2 assists. He's one of Michigan's top decision-makers, totaling a 2.9-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio, while doubling as the second-most terrifying transition scorer in the league behind Michigan State's Coen Carr. Lendeborg's signature Tomahawk jam elicits confirmation bias for the Dominican LeBron moniker. 

Lendeborg, like LeBron, is also one of the elite defensive players at his level. Lendeborg defends point guards, big wings, shooters, power forwards, a center occasionally and everyone else in between. Michigan's staff has started unleashing Lendeborg onto opposing point guards for all 94 feet. 

Lendeborg was the best player on the best team in the Big Ten this season, but averaging 14.7 points is not usually Big Ten Player of the Year-caliber. Lendeborg is the 45th player to earn Big Ten Player of the Year. He's currently on pace to be the lowest-scoring Big Ten Player of the Year ever … just barely. In 2008-09, Michigan State's Kalin Lucas earned Player of the Year honors, averaging 14.71 points. Lendeborg is currently at 14.69 points per game. Every decimal matters.

That context helps paint the LeBron resemblance a little more. At times, the NBA's all-time leading scorer has been accused of being a bit too unselfish, even though he has over 43,000 points under his belt. Lendeborg has some of that in his DNA as well. 

"He's definitely the most humble, team-first star player I've ever played with in my life," Michigan point guard Elliot Cadeau said. "I have to tell him to shoot the ball more, and I've never had to do that with a player of his caliber. I would kind of think they should shoot less. But with him, it is different. He never forces anything, even though we would like him to."

Lendeborg's counting stats haven't been record-breaking because No. 1 seed Michigan is so dominant and so deep, but the tape does not lie. Lendeborg is playing the best basketball of his life. But there will be times -- maybe as soon as tonight against Alabama -- when Michigan may need Lendeborg to flip into Alpha Mode, like he did on the road against Maryland in mid-December, when he totaled 29 points, nine assists and eight rebounds. Like he did in the regular-season finale against potential Big Ten Player of the Year candidate Jeremy Fears Jr. and rival Michigan State, when he delivered 27 points on just 12 shots to make it extra clear who the best player in the league was. Like he did in the Big Ten Tournament against Wisconsin when he punched home a nasty dunk early and sent the Badgers home late with an ice-cold, game-winning 3-pointer in the final seconds. 

"Him not having an attitude or an ego, it just made it easier for us as a team," Cason said. "I mean, we all know who's the guy. And for him not to act that way, it just made it so much better. We just allow him to be him."