Former Maryland Basketball star Derik Queen makes NBA regular season debut
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Former Maryland Terrapin basketball star Derik Queen made his NBA regular-season debut for the New Orleans Pelicans last night in a road loss against the Memphis Grizzlies.
Let's see how the young first-round center fared in his first taste of regular-season basketball.
Queen played 15 minutes of action, scoring three points on 1-4 shooting from the field, grabbing five rebounds, blocking a shot, and committing three fouls.
Derik Queen taking it coast to coast.
— New Orleans Pelicans (@PelicansNBA) October 23, 2025
that's special pic.twitter.com/h9Kn4tz8nL
Nothing that jumps off the stat sheet for you, but it's unfair to criticize the young center who hadn't seen any action in basketball since July in the Summer League. Queen was out due to a torn ligament in his wrist that he sustained back in a Summer League matchup against the Portland Trail Blazers on July 15th.
Before his injury, he was off to a great start in the NBA Summer League, averaging 21.7 points and 11.8 rebounds a game. He was a double-double machine, displaying the athletic and playmaking ability on the offensive end to create his own shot and get to the rack at will. His energy didn't cease on the defensive end, disrupting passing lanes and crashing the glass.
Five days ago, Queen was cleared by the Pelican to resume full basketball activities. Most likely, he's still trying to get his legs back under him and find his rhythm back.
Queen effectively crashed the boards on the floor yesterday evening in his limited time. He could look to continue to receive more time on the court as centers Kevon Looney (left knee sprain) and Karlo Matkovic (low back spasms) are both missing time due to injuries.
He can take advantage of Looney and Matkovic's absence by carving out a role with this Pelicans team and becoming a fresh new face who can help push this team to the playoffs. Back in June when speaking in his introductory interview for the Pelicans, Queen said this on proving himself to the league and when he was picked;
"I don't think nobody in that class is ever going to be better than me,' Queen stated. "I block all of the noise out. Joe Dumars got a lot of faith in me. Most of those guys I beat on in high school, so it don't really matter.
The young man from Baltimore, Maryland, doesn't lack confidence, and you love to see that in your first-round draft pick. As the season continues, it'll be fun to watch Queen get further acclimated at the professional level and develop into the talented player that the Maryland faithful know he is.
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Jaden's sports journalism career began at the College of Southern Maryland from 2022-2023, where he was brought in to cover baseball, softball, basketball, soccer, and volleyball at CSM. In late 2023, he began interning at the University of Maryland Athletics Department as a contributing writer to help develop feature stories and game recaps. He also creates his own sports media content on professional Washington teams with LegacyMaker Sports Network.