New Orleans Pelicans rookies Jeremiah Fears and Derik Queen were named to the NBA All-Rookie second team on Wednesday night.
The New Orleans Pelicans didn't have a banner year this past season, but they did see the debut of two very exciting rookies in Jeremiah Fears and Derik Queen, both of whom were honored by the league on Wednesday night.
The NBA announced the 2026 All-Rookie teams, and both Pelicans youngsters were named to the second team. Here are the full first and second teams:
First Team
G Dylan Harper, San Antonio Spurs
G VJ Edgecombe, Philadelphia 76ers
F Cedric Coward, Memphis Grizzlies
F Kon Knueppel, Charlotte Hornets
F Cooper Flagg, Dallas Mavericks
Second Team
G Jeremiah Fears, New Orleans Pelicans
F Ace Bailey, Utah Jazz
F Collin Murray-Boyles, Toronto Raptors
C/F Derik Queen, New Orleans Pelicans
C Maxime Raynaud, Sacramento Kings
Fears, the No. 7 overall pick in the 2025 draft, looked like a clear All-Rookie favorite from the moment that he debuted. He was a scoring machine and looks like he could have a long career ahead of him. He averaged 14.3 points, 3.7 rebounds and 3.4 assists as a rookie, which is not easy to do.
The 19-year-old is the point guard of the future in New Orleans. The best thing that he can do is continue to develop his three-point shot, as 33% on 3.7 attempts is not enough for what the Pelicans need out of their guards. The good news is that he showed the ability to improve throughout his rookie year.
Queen, the controversial No. 13 pick, battled a lot of talk all season about the trade made to select him. With the Atlanta Hawks now drafting at No. 8 with that pick, some of the talk will die down.
The 21-year-old averaged 11.7 points, 7.1 rebounds and 3.7 assists as a rookie. There is a lot of room to grow on the defensive side of things, but the offense is very exciting. He sees the court like a quarterback and plays with finesse.
