Derik Queen, through no fault of his own, was the most controversial name of this year's NBA Draft. The New Orleans Pelicans were skewered by everyone for trading a lot of future assets to get Queen, viewed by most draftniks as no sure-thing star. Bill Simmons called it " one of the five dumbest trades of this decade." The two picks they gave up to move up 10 spots and pick Queen could end up No. 1 and No. 5 in this year's draft.
That's a lot of pressure for a rookie. But the former Maryland basketball star has shown the same calm and skill that made him a star in College Park, inching his way into the Rookie of the Year conversation during his recent blossoming. His breakout drew attention with a 30-point game against the Denver Nuggets superstar Nikola Jokic, the player to which Queen's style was often compared to (even earning him a "Black Baby Jokic" nickname from friends). Jokic called him "an amazing player" afterward.
But Queen reached a historic boiling point on Monday night against the San Antonio Spurs with 30 points, 10 rebounds, 10 assist and four blocks. He's the fifth player in NBA history to record a 30-10-10 game before turning 21. The list is illustrious: Luka Doncic, LeBron James, Victor Wembanyama, De'Aaron Fox and Queen. He also joined ins Jokic and James as the only players with those numbers in a game since 2000. And Blake Griffin is the only rookie in NBA history with a higher field goal percentage in a 30-point triple-double.
He's also the first rookie in history to record 30-plus points, 10-plus rebounds, 10-plus assists and four-plus blocks in a single game.
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"Any rookie that takes over like that, it's really special," Pelicans interim coach James Borrego said. "You don't see that too often in this league. That was impressive. I don't know how to say it other than that. It was a special performance on his part to make plays, to pass the ball, create for others and for himself to get to the rim."
In 25 games, last year's Big Ten Freshman of the Year is averaging 12.9 points on 49.6 percent shooting, 6.4 rebounds, 3.9 assists and one steal per game. In just 24.9 minutes per game. That's earned him bigger minutes, and the results have been eye-opening. Playing 31.9 minutes per game in four December games, he's averaging 18 points, 7.8 rebounds, 6.5 assists and 1.3 blocks. That versatility earned him comparisons to the crafty Jokic, and the nickname Baby Jokic.
"I think I'm a little bit taller, but I think there is that style, I guess you'd say, crafty ... I could see it, yeah," Jokic said after Queen's big game against Denver. "You can see some similarities. I don't want people to see him and tell me he's something like me. I think he's a good enough player that he'll have his own story."
Queen landed at No. 5 for the award in NBA.com's Rookie Ladder rankings last week. According to sportsbook BetMGM, he has the third-best rookie of the year odds.
At 6-9, he anticipated open teammates better than anyone on the Terps' roster last year. So anyone who watched Queen last year was aware of his prodigious passing ability for a young big man. Now it's becoming mainstream knowledge. He's averaging more assists per game (3.9) than any rookie center in the last 50 years.
Brad Martel of Yahoo! Sports wrote:
Pelicans coaches have already begun trusting Queen to handle the ball coming up the court. He also has demonstrated a knack for delivering nifty passes through traffic to teammates cutting toward the hoop.
"I try to pass, but when things open up, I try to go score," Queen said.
As New Orleans' league-worst record (3-22) continues to plummet, the picks it traded to get Queen become more valuable. So criticism of the Pelicans for giving up too much might never be completely erased unless he becomes the greatest player of all time.\
"The evaluation of Queen the player and Queen the return on potentially one of the most important trades of the last year are separate matters. It would be unfair to Queen to suggest that anything less than a return equivalent to what the Pelicans gave up to get him would constitute a disappointment. Untangle him from the circumstances he didn't create for himself and he's been one of the more impressive rookies in a stellar class. No matter how poorly the trade ultimately plays out for the Pelicans, that is at least a win worth noting," CBSSports' Sam Quinn wrote in mid-November.
The criticism has been aimed at New Orleans for the trade, not at Queen. But everyone will be watching to see what those picks turn into.
"The odds of him living up to the price that was paid to get him are extremely long. The odds of him performing up to or above the level of a standard, No. 13 overall pick? Right now, those odds are much shorter. If you can just ignore the trade that got him to New Orleans and judge Queen as a player, you'll be pretty pleased with how well he's performed in the first month or so of his career."