Derrick Quinn reveals the players he is ‘waiting for’ after LeBron James, Victor Wembanyama

New Orleans Pelicans beginner center Derrick Queen passed the Los Angeles Lakers LeBron James and the San Antonio Spurs All-Star Victor Vembanyama from his list of players he’s excited to face in his first NBA season. After an impressive run of games, The Queen finds her way with the Pelicans. In many ways, he’s an integral part of New Orleans’ future, and he’s having fun playing against stars like James that he’s watched since he was a kid.

Ahead of the Pelicans’ Friday night game against the Washington Wizards, Quinn revealed which players are involved I couldn’t wait to play againstincluding LeBron and Vembanyama, for the first time.

“Bron was actually guarding me. He scored on him twice,” Quinn said. “Who else? Wemby, he’s big as hell. AD and Jokic, of course. I’m just waiting for Embiid, who else? Maybe I’m missing someone, but, yeah, Embiid.”

“Bron guarded me. He hit him twice. Who else? Wemby, he’s big. AD and Jokic of course. I’m just waiting for Embiid”

— Derrick Quinn on the players he was fantastic against pic.twitter.com/0AiMI4gKns

— Pelicans Film Room (@PelsFilmRoom) January 9, 2026

The Pelicans will host the Nuggets, who will be without All-Star Nikola Jokic due to a knee injury. However, Quinn will face Vembanyama and the Spurs in San Antonio on January 25.

James Borrego sees potential in the Pelicans’ Derrick Quinn

While head coach James Borrego sees rebounding as one of the strengths of Pelicans rookie Derrick Quinn, he believes it’s a skill that will only improve from here on out. Borrego considers the Queen to be the bright side of Pelican this season.

Borrego recently spoke about the Queen growth as a rookie.

“Rebounding is one of those things that is pretty transferable from the college game to the NBA,” Borrego began. “That’s something (the front office) saw in college that could translate. I think it was there, so I think we should be looking for more. Why not? If (Queen) is at 10, why not look for 12? Let’s see where it takes him. I think challenging him on the boards is a good thing. He has a knack for” (rebounding).”

“I think the biggest thing is what (Kraljica) did with the ball in his hands. In the full court, his ability, our points per possession when he has the ball off the rebound in transition, was really significant. I didn’t expect that,” Borrego admitted. “It’s like he led the break as a playmaker in transition from the boards, the center he was for us was significant, and also in the half test,” Borrego concluded.

The Pelicans will face the Wizards on the road on Friday.