This may not come as a shocker, but Derik Queen had another career night Wednesday evening. Against one of the top teams and best players in the NBA, Queen had a memorable night scoring a new career-high 30 points in a 125-118 loss against the Denver Nuggets.
Queen shot 12-of-18 from the floor, knocking down one three, and 5-of-8 from the free-throw line. He also grabbed nine rebounds, dished out four assists, and had two steals and two blocks.
Derik Queen, absolute baller
career-high, 30 PTS (12/18 FG)
9 REB
4 AST
2 BLK
2 STL pic.twitter.com/tB21UXOBay
— New Orleans Pelicans (@PelicansNBA) November 20, 2025
Wednesday marked his eighth double-digit point outing of his young career, in his third consecutive start. Despite the low-scoring outputs in the past three contests, Queen bounced back with a statement game.
The most impressive part of the rookie was his confidence and energy to go head-to-head with arguably the best big man in the league, Nikola Jokić. He continued to attack the big man from the mid-range game into the inside, no matter what had happened on the previous end. Defensively, he didn’t back down, either, playing physical down low, fighting for position, bumping, staying active in the passing lanes, and even tracking down shots.
Offensively, he was dynamic, using his effective ball handling to create space when driving to the basket or spotting up for the jumper. He also continued to show his vision, finding open-cutting teammates, reminding you of Jokić himself.
The “Joker” had praise for the 2025 first-round rookie, stating;
“He was really good tonight. He was attacking paint. He shot the ball well. He was playing downhill, especially in those splits. He found himself open. He had a really great night.
Jokić continued, saying, “He’s good, you know. He has some moves. He’s definitely crafty and unorthodox. Great touch around the infield for the game. It’s good to see somebody different.”
Queen talked about the feeling of playing against Jokić:
” It was good playing against him. I made a lot of plays that I was like, “wow,” too, while guarding him. Really good and smart player. He got all the angles right; he’s just hard to stop. It’s a well-built team that he has around him, and they know him very well.”
Even with the return of star player Zion Williamson, Queen led the way for New Orleans, continuing to play into an extended potential leading role for the team. With the Pelicans struggling this season, off to a 2-13 start, Queen has been a bright spot for the team as he continues to develop in his rookie year.
