A bond has forever been formed between each player on the 2026 Michigan National Championship team. Those guys are a brotherhood, one that was fostered by now-former Michigan head coach Dusty May. A few of those players, three to be exact, declared for the 2026 NBA Draft and were all selected in the Top 12, one, Morez Johnson Jr., even heading to Dallas with May.
Johnson, Yaxel Lendeborg, and Aday Mara are all now in the NBA and are currently making their NBA Summer League debuts. Michigan fans got the matchup of their dreams, seeing Johnson and the Dallas Mavericks take on Lendeborg and the Golden State Warriors in their first game of the Las Vegas NBA Summer League.
While it was all business on the court, after the game, the two former Michigan men gave fans the best moment. Lendeborg crashed Johnson's postgame media availability, trolling his former teammates a bit.
"How did it feel to play against Yaxel Lendeborg? I know you guys were teammates," Lendeborg said through laughter.
Johnson's response could not have been better, saying, "Who's that?" before giving a real answer. "It was great, man, out there competing. Came up short, losing is not normally my thing, but it is what it is. They got to come to Dallas."
Yaxel Lendeborg crashed Morez Johnson’s postgame presser.
— Mike Curtis (@MikeACurtis2) July 10, 2026
Fun moment with the former Michigan teammates after their first game against each other as pros.
Yaxel: “How does it feel to play against Yaxel Lendeborg? I know you guys were teammates last year.”
Rez: “Who’s that?” pic.twitter.com/uOYzAqsyK5
Lendeborg committed to the bit wholeheartedly, having his phone up, recording like a real reporter. You could tell these are two guys who have a great relationship and simply love messing with each other, which isn't always the case for former teammates.
Michigan stars are holding their own in the NBA Summer League
The moment from Johnson and Lendeborg certainly warms the heart, especially seeing former teammates still with such a great relationship. However, the reason everyone was there was because of the matchup, which was a great one on the court.
Lendeborg and Johnson both showed out in their first night in Vegas in the spotlight. The former had the better night over his former teammate, recording a double-double with 21 points, 10 rebounds, and six assists in just 28 minutes.
Johnson did beat out Lendeborg in terms of points during the game, finishing with 27 points, eight rebounds, and three assists. Lendeborg's team got the final laugh, though, with a 101-90 win over the Mavericks.
The final player in this three-headed monster Michigan once had, Aday Mara, will hit the court tonight with the Oklahoma City Thunder in the Las Vegas NBA Summer League. Mara did suit up for the Thunder in the Salt Lake City Summer League games, except for the finale, when he took a rest day before games began to ramp up.
What Mara has shown up to this point, though, has Thunder fans very excited, especially with their team already stacked as it is. Mara could be the small missing piece that the Thunder need to win another NBA Championship in the near future.
Michigan sent three extremely talented players to the NBA who all have the ability to make a difference for their team, and it has to have Wolverines fans jumping for joy.
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