Derrick Queen impresses with a steal and a dunk against the Hawks
The Pelicans were coming off another disappointing season that had already seen the organization fire chief trainer Willie Green. There was one bright spot for the Pelicans though plays new forward Derrick Quinnwhich he recently added to his list of early highlights with a steal and a dunk against the Atlanta Hawks.
The Pelicans were already on their way to their ninth straight loss as they trailed the Hawks by as many as 20 points as the fourth quarter ended. Hawks guard Wit Krejci dribbled the clock as the game drew to a close. But Derrick Quinn, who clearly believes in the ‘play hard until the buzzer’ mantra, snuck up on Krejci, came up with a steal and proceeded to go coast-to-coast and finish with a dunk.
The outcome of the game was not in dispute, but Pelicans fans will no doubt be delighted with Queen’s no-nonsense attitude. During the Pelicans’ early struggles, Quinn had already separated himself as a player worth building around. He started the season not getting much playing time, but since he’s been in the rotation, he’s produced like you’d expect from a lottery pick.
The Queen appeared in 16 games, including four starts, with just over 23 minutes per game. He averaged 12.2 points, 6.4 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 1.1 steals while shooting 49.3 percent from the field, 14.3 percent from the three-point line and 75 percent from the free throw line.
The 13th overall pick in the 2025 NBA draft, the Pelicans ended up trading up in the draft with the Hawks in order to select Quinn. The move is still considered risky by some because the team gave up an unprotected first-round pick to acquire Quinn. The Pelicans are on their way to one of the worst records in the league, and the Hawks could be in the running for the No. 1 pick in 2026.
But either way, Queen already looks like a legitimate cornerstone of the franchise.
2025-11-23 03:32:00
