Pelicans’ Derik Queen gets major words of encouragement from Stephen A. Smith

Derik Queen came into the NBA with plenty of expectations placed upon him by virtue of the way the New Orleans Pelicans acquired his draft rights. They gave up the 23rd overall pick of the 2025 NBA Draft (Asa Newell) and an unprotected 2026 first-round pick (the eighth overall selection in this year’s draft) to trade up for the 13th overall selection, which they then used to pick Queen.

There were plenty of moments throughout Queen’s rookie campaign where he shone as the kind of modern big man the Pelicans could build their offense around. But Queen ended the season on a bit of a downward trajectory, with the Pelicans deploying him off the bench to end the campaign after he had broken through to the starting lineup towards the middle of the season.

Only 21 years of age, Queen has plenty of time to develop into the player many think he could be. And for what it’s worth, noted pundit Stephen A. Smith is a big fan of the Pelicans youngster’s personality which makes it very easy to root for him.

“You’re a nice, beautiful kid. You got a really nice smile. And let me tell you how it works. You can have a bad moment in a game, and I’mma go like this, ‘Damn, but I like him. I really like that guy. He got such a wonderful smile,'” Smith told Queen prior to Game 2 of the 2026 NBA Finals.

“That’s what the smile does. Smiles are powerful. Keep it. And the game. Don’t lose the game.”

"He's got a magnetic smile."

Stephen A. Smith goes on a minute-long rant about how much he loves the @PelicansNBA rookie and NBA Player Correspondent Derik Queen's smile pic.twitter.com/9VKP09qplT

— NBA (@NBA) June 6, 2026

Queen’s infectious personality has endeared him to Pelicans fans who would want nothing more than to see him break out as a perennial All-Star and perhaps even a perennial All-NBA player.

In his rookie campaign, Queen averaged 11.7 points, 7.1 rebounds, and 3.7 assists per game, suiting up in 81 games for the Pelicans this past season.

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