The New Orleans Pelicans have wrapped their first preseason game against Melbourne United. In the 107-97 win, Micah Peavy was a major standout guy for me; his effort, aggressiveness, and calmness were really encouraging.
When he was drafted 40th overall in the 2025 NBA draft, I wasn’t overly familiar with his game and was worried the Pelicans wasted a pick on someone who would never be anything in the NBA. However, after one summer league, I fell in love with his tough, hard-nosed style of play. This sentiment is something that continued after his performance in the preseason opener.
In his preseason debut, Peavy had 7 points, 1 rebound, and 3 steals on 3-for-5 shooting from the field. While these numbers don’t scream steal of the draft or future staple in the Pelicans rotation, the eye test did.
The defense was as advertised!
His ability as a defender to get in his stance, plant his feet, slide his feet, and use his active hands was awesome to see from a rookie. He looked like the best defender on the court during all of his 21 minutes played tonight.
Peavy looked impossible to drive on and get by for all of Melbourne United’s players. His patience and high basketball IQ allowed him to read the United players like a book throughout the game, enabling him to get strip steals and poke balls loose.
He looked like more of a 5-year pro than a rookie with the way he handled himself on the defensive end.
The offensive game is a lot better than initially expected
Peavy has always been advertised as a wing stopper, who has a solid jump shot but may never be able to be much offensively. This performance suggested otherwise. Now, just to clarify I don’t think Peavy is ever going to be some isolation beast, but he has a lot of potential as a secondary ball handler, which we see in this game.
One play specifically stands out, during the late third quarter, when United was running a one-man press, with Peavy bringing the ball up. He hit a crossover at half-court, then drove extremely hard right and drained a baseline midrange pull-up. New Orleans needed a bucket, and Peavy was able to take advantage of what the defense was giving him and exploit a slower defender.
As far as his shooting goes, he went 1/1 from deep on a top-of-the-key three. Peavy shot 40% from three on 4.1 attempts per game in his last season at George Town, and he already has good enough mechanics, where, at the minimum, I think he’ll be a league-average three-point shooter.
The same way we saw Jose Alvarado become a fan favorite is the same path I think Peavy is heading down. Both guys just play extremely hard, and the city of New Orleans appreciates and respects that. Don’t be surprised if this style of play also earns the trust of Willie Green, and we see the second-round pick become a real piece in this team rotation this season.