Trends-CA

Pelicans’ Derik Queen puts up numbers never before done in history of New Orleans basketball

admin-cdn3 hours ago

0 0 1 minute read

Pelicans' Derik Queen puts up numbers never before done in history of New Orleans basketball

Matched up with Nuggets superstar Nikola Jokic, New Orleans Pelicans rookie Derik Queen didn’t hold back.

In fact, he played one of the games of his life on Wednesday night.

Queen finished with:

30 points
9 rebounds
2 steals
2 blocks
12-for-18 FG

He’s the first Pelicans rookie to reach all those stats while shooting 65% from the field during the game, according to StatMuse.

MORE: 8th-grade Michael Porter Jr. would dominate the WNBA, according to Michael Porter Jr.

Queen’s narrative is going to be tricky for New Orleans for a long time.

The Pelicans had to give up immense draft pick value to trade up and get Queen.

If he winds up being a superstar, it works out. If not, it could age very poorly.

But the reality now is that the deal is done. The Pelicans have Queen, and he has the Pelicans.

MORE: Damian Lillard floats the idea of returning to Weber State

The best they can do is to make the most of it. New Orleans is giving Queen an opportunity to prove he belongs. And mostly of late, he’s been seizing his crown.

Don’t be shocked to see Queen keep this up. He’s got the runway and the talent, and maybe it’ll make people forget about that trade just a little bit.