Pelicans' Rookies Offering Hope of a Bright Future with Hot Start

On Thursday night, the New Orleans Pelicans rookies continued the transcendent start to their debut seasons.

In a 23-point win over the Trail Blazers, the team’s rookies in Jeremiah Fears and Derik Queen were again spectacular, which is quickly becoming par for the course for the New Orleans newbies.

Earlier in the year, at the 2025 NBA Draft, the Pelicans took Jeremiah Fears at No. 7 and Derik Queen at No. 13, with the latter offering up plenty of drama.

New Orleans shipped off an unprotected 2026 first-round pick in order to trade up and grab Queen, which made waves as a potentially disastrous move. The Pelicans are now just 4-22 on the season, pointing to real merit to the trade’s backlash, though the franchise can take some solace in its two rookies performances.

Against Portland, Fears went for 19 points on 9-for-14 shooting from the starting lineup, adding seven rebounds, four assists and a steal. Queen, who started as well, went for 17 points on 8-for-12 shooting, with seven assists to zero turnovers, five rebounds and two steals.

Both were major positives in the plus-minus department, helping the team earn just their fourth win of the season.

Fears’ high-octane game from the backcourt had plenty of notable moments, though the play of the night likely went to Queen’s half-court lob:

DERIK QUEEN LOB PASS FROM THE LOGO. 🤯

pic.twitter.com/btgu6pm0v1
— Hoop Central (@TheHoopCentral) December 12, 2025

The process that went into the Pelicans trading for the right to Queen was shaky, though things may turn out fine in the end. It’s early, but both Fears and Queen are obvious draft hits with immensely high ceilings, and both stand to grow next to one another for the next half-decade.

It comes at the perfect time, too, as New Orleans currently has little hope outside of its two newbies. The team has a solid core overall, though things just aren’t meshing in a tangible way.

With the obvious stardom that both rookies have shown, the best course of action may be to sell off a few win-now pieces in hopes of building an entirely new core, with Fears and Queen at the center. The former has shown obvious feels in scoring and facilitating from the point guard spot, and Queen has feel reminiscent of other hubs league-wide, such as Domantas Sabonis, Alperen Sengun and more.

The Pelicans won't need to rush any decisions on that end. For now, they can wait on gather information on both newbies, who continue to get better on a nightly basis.