Like most teams, the New Orleans Pelicans have hit on some draft picks and missed badly on others. In the 2020 NBA draft, the Pelicans used the 13th pick to select Kira Lewis Jr., passing up on Kentucky Wildcats guard Tyrese Maxey. And according to super-agent Rich Paul, he begged the Pelicans to take Maxey with their first-round pick.
Maxey would fall all the way to the Philadelphia 76ers with the 21st overall pick. So, in the Pelicans defense, they weren’t the only team who blew an opportunity to grab the All-Star guard.
This past season, Maxey averaged over 28 points, more than six assists, and nearly two steals per game. He has turned himself into one of the best guards in the NBA.
Unfortunately, Lewis’ career didn’t pan out as expected. The speedy guard sprained his MCL in the 2021-2022 season and was never able to bounce back. Lewis last played an NBA game in the 2023-2024 season for the Utah Jazz.
The Pelicans didn’t think Maxey could shoot the three
The reason why the Pelicans chose Lewis over Maxey will likely make New Orleans fans go crazy. While on his podcast, Game Over, Paul explained that the Pelicans didn’t want to draft Maxey due to the analytics. Apparently, the analytics showed the Pelicans that Maxey would not become a quality three-point shooter.
Rich Paul says he BEGGED the Pelicans to draft his client Tyrese Maxey at pick 13 in the 2020 draft 😳
— NBA Courtside (@NBA__Courtside) May 25, 2026
The Pelicans passed because the analytics said Tyrese Maxey wasn’t a good enough 3PT shooter at the time
The Pelicans selected PG Kira Lewis Jr instead
(Via Game Over) pic.twitter.com/U7NtlvYaPk
Let’s take a look, shall we? This past season, Maxey shot 36% from three. On his career, Maxey is shooting 37% from behind the line. Trey Murphy is the Pelicans' best three-point shooter, and he is shooting 38% from three for his career. And, how about Lewis? Well, he shot just 29% from beyond the arc in his short NBA career.
I will say that Maxey wasn’t known for his three-point shooting in college. But, let’s be honest, it’s still a brutal miss for a Pelicans franchise that needs a star player opposite Zion Williamson.
Could you imagine if the Pelicans had a team headlined by Maxey and Williamson? How about a starting five of Maxey, Herb Jones, Trey Murphy, Williamson, and Derik Queen? Yes, there would be questions about fit, but this team would be oozing with talent
I’m not here to pick on the Pelicans. A lot has gone wrong for this team over the last six years. But it had to be called out that they missed a perfect opportunity to draft a superstar player.
I know missing out on draft picks is a sensitive issue for Pelicans fans, especially with no first-round picks and a loaded draft coming up. Who knows, maybe the Pelicans will be able to make a move to get back into the first round and select a superstar player of their own.
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