Lou Williams gives Derik Queen his flowers amid Pelicans hot stretch

Just last week, the New Orleans Pelicans had the worst record in the NBA. After racking up five straight wins, the Pelicans are now 8-22 and sit in 13th place in the Western Conference. The Pelicans found a spark and have played some great basketball over the last week. New Orleans defeated the Blazers, Bulls, Rockets, Pacers, and Mavericks to potentially turn the season around.

Rookie Derik Queen has been a massive part of what the Pelicans have been able to accomplish during this stretch. In a loss to the San Antonio Spurs a few weeks back, Queen scored 33 points and added 10 rebounds, and 10 assists for a monster triple-double. Rookies don’t often put up those types of numbers. The first-round pick has not slowed down; he has scored 16 or more points in his last three games while dominating the boards by grabbing 10+ in all three games as well.

His rebounds per game have jumped up to 6.8, and he is at 13.2 points per game on 51.7% shooting. Queen is quickly becoming a star in the NBA if he isn’t already. Zion Williamson dropped a ‘special’ take on Queen’s success. “He gets better every game… he’s a special talent, and I’m glad he’s with us.”

Former NBA stud Lou Williams had some great things to say as well about the rookie’s game this season and during the hot stretch.

“Derik Queen is a star. This young guy is somebody you can definitely build around. He’s definitely a winning piece.”

Lou Williams on the Pelicans current 5 game win streak

(via @RunItBackFDTV)pic.twitter.com/6g96pXp2iF

— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) December 23, 2025

“Derik Queen is a star. This young guy is somebody you can definitely build around. He’s definitely a winning piece.”

Queen will have another opportunity to shine bright on the road against the Cleveland Cavaliers on Tuesday night. Then, after Christmas, the Pelicans are back home against the Phoenix Suns for two straight contests.

The post Lou Williams gives Derik Queen his flowers amid Pelicans hot stretch appeared first on ClutchPoints.