Yaxel Lendeborg was born to his mom, Yissel Raposo, and dad, Okary Lendeborg
NEED TO KNOW
Yissel and Okary are both former basketball players
Yaxel has called his mom, who has cancer, the "strongest woman" he knows
Yaxel Lendeborg comes from a family ofbasketballplayers.
The University of Michigan basketball star was born in Puerto Rico to his parents, mom Yissel Raposo and dad Okary Lendeborg, both of whom played in the Dominican Republic, perMLive.com. Yaxel has been candid about his close relationship with his mom, often speaking about how she helped him get to where he is today both personally and professionally.
In a February 2026 essay forThe Players' Tribune, Yaxel got candid about his mother's cancer diagnosis and why it means so much to him to make her "proud," especially amid the 2026March Madnesstournament.
"I know that more than anything else, what makes my mom most happy is seeingmehappy. Seeing me accomplish my goals," he wrote. "And I know there's nothing I could do right now that would make her happier than seeing me keep working hard, keep playing my best, and help bring a national championship to the University of Michigan."
The basketball star added, "So that right there is my focus. I want more than anything to cut down those nets — for so many reasons, but most of all for HER."
Here's everything to know about Yaxel Lendeborg's parents.
Both of his parents played basketball
Yaxel comes from a family of athletes, as both of his parents played for the Dominican Republic national basketball team, per MLive.com. In addition to basketball, Yissel also played for the Dominican Republic's national volleyball team.
According to MLive.com, Yissel was playing basketball and volleyball at a collegiate level at the American University of Puerto Rico when Yaxel was born.
Meanwhile, his father was playing basketball overseas at the time. (Yaxel describes his grandfather — Yissel's dad — as his first father figure, per the outlet.)
"I do have some natural ability that just comes from my parents I guess," he told the outlet. "I'm super grateful about that."
His mom helped him reach his basketball goals
Yissel recognized her son's basketball dreams early on — and did everything in her power to help him achieve them.
"I always bought NBA clothes for Yaxel," Yissel toldThe Michigan Dailyin November 2025. "And when he was little I asked Yaxel, 'What are you gonna do when you grow up?' and he always said, 'NBA.' "
Per the outlet, Yaxel's academic struggles in school left him ineligible to play basketball amid his freshman year. While he stayed off the court for the next two years, his mother stepped in during his senior year.
"The last year when he was at school, I talked to the counselor, because I wanted Yaxel to study, finish school and play basketball," Yissel told the outlet, explaining that the school informed her of a program in Camden, N.J., and they were living in Pennsauken, N.J.
"I said to Yaxel, 'Hey, we need to do something different. We need to sacrifice,' " she recalled.
Despite having some time on the court toward the end of his senior year, it wasn't enough for Yaxel to get the attention of scouts. He worked alongside his mom in a warehouse for some time, though she recognized that he needed to find a way to play basketball.
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Yissel harnessed her connections from her years playing in the Dominican system and got her son invited to a basketball camp in New York. He eventually caught the attention of Arizona Western College, who offered him a spot on scholarship — though the offer was presented to his mom. Even though he had hesitations, she was adamant on him going.
"With a week left [of the camp], my mom says I have to go to Arizona, so I pretty much got forced on a plane," Yaxel recalled.
Yaxel credits his mom with saving his life
The basketball player had a hard time in the wake of his grandfather's death, as he shared in his essay forThe Players' Tribune.
"I was just never the same happy kid after that," he wrote. "I basically lost all motivation to be good at anything."
When he was 17 — a time in which Yaxel wrote that he was "going nowhere" — the basketball player had an emotional conversation with his mother, in which she told him there's "no more time to mess around," he wrote.
She shared what he needed to do in order to graduate, and while he resisted at first, Yaxel took a look at her face and "everything changed" for him.
"Seeing my mom in that moment, and catching a glimpse of the heartbreak she was feeling over what was happening with me — it changed the trajectory of my entire life," he wrote. "In the blink of an eye, I went from yelling and arguing and fighting tooth and nail about not having to take all these community college classes to being like…. 'You know what, Mom, you're completely right. I need to be better. And I promise you I will be. I get it. For real.' "
Yaxel added, "My mom pretty much saved my life that night."
Yaxel has a complicated relationship with his dad
In his essay forThe Players' Tribune, Yaxel got candid about his mother's reaction to an argument he had with his father.
Yaxel wrote that things "seemed to be getting even more hostile" between them, and he told his mom that he didn't want to be at the house or "be around him."
He went on to write that his mom tried to find a way for him and his dad to "somehow get along and see eye to eye," though admitted they were "not getting anywhere."
Yissel is the "strongest person" Yaxel knows
Yaxel shared in his essay forThe Players' Tribunethat his mother had recently been diagnosed with cancer. At the time, he wrote that she had completed nine of her twelve sessions of chemo, and called it a "long, hard process."
"She's the strongest person I've ever known," he continued, getting candid that he's been "a wreck."
"I'm always trying to do what she says and 'be strong' — I try to do that for her," Yaxel wrote. "It's not easy pretending to be OK, and acting like everything's fine, when you're worried about the person you love more than anyone on this planet."
He went on to write that there's "one thing" he can control when it comes to his mother's diagnosis: "I can do everything in my power to make sure my mom knows how much she means to me," he wrote.
Yaxel continued, "I can make sure she understands that I'm so grateful for everything she's done. And that all I've ever wanted was to be someone who my mom could be proud of, someone she is proud to call her son."
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