Derik Queen turns 21 in less than three weeks.
Players his age aren’t supposed to be this good this soon. They aren't supposed to put up numbers like the ones he put up Monday night at Smoothie King Center.
Queen finished with 33 point, 10 rebounds, 10 assists and four blocked shots in [a 135-132 loss to the San Antonio Spurs](https://www.nola.com/tncms/asset/editorial/91b5326b-42f6-4571-8f58-c643c6d5574d/).
“He played his a-- off tonight,” said teammate DeAndre Jordan.
Queen filled up the stat sheet in a way that few have.
Only LeBron James, Luka Doncic, De’Aaron Fox and Victor Wembanyama have recorded a 30-point triple double before their 21st birthday. Queen is the first center with a 30-point triple double as a rookie. (Wembanyama’s came in his second season). Queen’s came in just the 25th game of the season.
Queen is also the first player to have a 30-point triple double with four blocked shots since 1973-’74 when the league first began keeping track of blocked shots. (Yeah, Wilt Chamberlain probably did it.)
“It means a lot,” Queen said. “Pretty good for a person who didn’t have a preseason and was hurt. A lot of people doubted. I even had a little bit of doubt myself with my first time being injured and how things have been going this season.”
Games like this one should remove any doubt he or the fans have had about the guy Joe Dumars traded up in the draft to get. The oddsmakers in Vegas currently have Queen as the third favorite to win Rookie of the Year, only behind Cooper Flagg (Dallas Mavericks) and Kon Knueppel (Charlotte Hornets). Not bad for a player selected with the 13th pick. It was only fitting that another rookie that some doubted (New Orleans Saints’ quarterback Tyler Shough) was sitting courtside Monday night witnessing his first Pelicans’ game. It's early, but both Queen and Shough look like they could be well on their way to being the faces of their respective franchises.
Queen showed some of everything, scoring at will while also getting his teammates open looks and rebounding.
“That was impressive,” said Pelicans’ interim coach James Borrego. “I don’t know to to say it other than that. It was a special performance on his part to make plays, pass the ball, play make, create for others and get to the rim. He made timely plays, too. In clutch moments, for him to have that poise at this young age is special. You don’t see that too often.”
Even more impressive is that Queen’s big night came despite a slow first half. His stats at halftime? 4 points, 6 rebounds and 3 assists.
Then he got going, scoring 21 points to go with four rebounds and five assists in the third quarter.
“I started off with a dunk and that got me going,” Queen said. “Everything was just flowing.”
It also helped that he got some lectures from veteran teammates Jordan and Kevon Looney.
“There was no excuse why he can’t do that the whole game,” Jordan said. “I think that’s the next challenge for him. Being able to turn that motor on from the tip to start the game. It’s just growth. But he played amazing in the second half.”
Queen shot 11 of 15 from the floor. One of his few misses came on the final shot he took. He missed a 3-pointer with seven seconds left that would have given the Pelicans a late lead. As Queen walked to the other end of the court after the miss, he dropped his head. Jose Alvarado walked up to him, put his hand on Queen’s chin and picked his head up. The missed shot was about the only thing that went wrong for Queen on this day.
“I wanted that shot to go in,” Queen said. “The next one is definitely going to go in.”