Why G League Finals MVP Trevelin Queen Has A Bright Future Ahead Of Him
Dakota Schmidt breaks down the game of G League Finals MVP Trevelin Queen to understand how he's dominated the G league and why he has a bright future ahead of him.
As someone that has been writing about the G League for a good portion of my life now, it’s still hard to comprehend everything that it takes for a player to get through a singular season. From the low salaries for guys on standard G League contracts, playing in arenas that are emptier than you’re used to, and sitting on coach seats for flights despite playing in a sport where you’re much too long to do that, just making it through a season is an accomplishment in itself. However, to not only accomplish that goal but still persist as the league’s premier player that is putting up career-best performance after most of your colleagues have gone home is something that is absolutely phenomenal.
That player with whom I just described is Trevelin Queen. Despite being named as the G League MVP following a phenomenal season with the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, the Rockets' two-way prospect seems to have taken a step further during the G League Finals. On Tuesday night during a Game
1 matchup against the Delaware Blue Coats where he put up a career-best 44 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 steals on 15-24 from the field and 7-12 from beyond the arc.
From the first quarter to when he was pulled in the 4th quarter, he seemed like a man possessed, as his quick shooting stroke was utilized to tear through the heart of Delaware’s defense. No matter if he was working off screens, catch-and-shoot, or pulling up from deep, the man was shooting like the rim was the size of your student loan debt.
For Queen, those types of shooting performances weren’t exactly rare, as there have been seven games this season where he hit at least five perimeter jumpers. However, in the games when those shots weren’t falling, which happened more often than not considering he shot 34% from deep during the regular season, it was his mix of energy and basketball IQ that allowed him to flourish. That was shown in the decisive game 2 of the series where the G League MVP made a big impact by putting up 24 points, 9 rebounds, 4 assists, a steal, and a block despite shooting 8-17 from the field and only 3-9 from beyond the arc.
Within the offensive system that head coach Mahmoud Abdelfattah has implemented in Rio Grande Valley that is reliant on pace and movement of both the ball and body, Queen has served as their leader. When working with the ball in his hands, the New Mexico State alum seems to consistently be in a state of zen with how calm he is. Whether or not he’s working in transition or half-court, our subject seems to be in control of himself and the duty of knowing where his other four teammates are on the court. That trait allows him to be able to explode to the rim when he’s pushing the pace or utilizing a screen while in a half-court set.
However, the area where that thought is most solidified is as a passer. When Rockets rookie Daishen Nix was spending time with the big league club, which was the norm towards the end of the regular season, it’s fair to say that Trevelin took on the passing duties. With that responsibility, he absolutely flourished. That was due to the combination of him being able to look over the floor as a 6’6 wing while also possessing the wherewithal to be able to quickly recognize his surroundings and act. This is seen by how he knows the perfect time to deliver passers to cutters, when to take advantage of a closeout to push the ball to a big in the dunker spot, or the exact moment to deliver the ball to a roll man.
Along with the various ways that he’s able to deliver the ball to his man in half-court sets, it seems like Trevelin has saved his magic for transition or early offensive sets. As that above play shows, this man is absolutely no stranger in trying to push the ball to extremely tight windows that other ball-handlers might be afraid to dish it to.
The tentpole example of that during the 2021-22 G League season is seen in the clip below where he delivers the ball to the trailing big through a window that might score some All-Pro NFL quarterbacks. Along with the precision of the pass, the timing itself is absolutely absurd as the ball being delivered a blink of an eye later would’ve likely resulted in a turnover. Queen being comfortable with throwing these types of risky passes makes it impressive that he was able to average 5 assists per game while maintaining a solid 1’4 Ast/TO ratio.
While he has been one of the better on-ball wing threats in the G League, off-ball is where the 25-year-old is the area where he might be best at. When it comes to the craft of cutting, Queen could honestly be a professor with how he’s able to break away from his defender and dive to the rim. As you watch him play, the one move that he does that has tricked most defenders is slowly moving away from the rim before turning his hips and exploding the other way.
Even if the defender is able to quickly react, Queen is quick enough where the defender is already left in the dust once they turn their head. His success in being able to use his craft and quicks to break away from the defense led him to shoot 70% on cuts to the rim, which placed him in the 81st percentile, according to Synergy Sports.
Those skills along with a real nose for the ball that allowed him to be a menace on the offensive glass allowed him to have one of the better G League seasons in recent memory. In 29 total regular season games, he averaged 24.1 points, 6.5 rebounds, 4.8 assists, and 3.2 steals on 48% from the field and 34% from beyond the arc on 9.1 attempts per game. While that ability to shine of the league’s premier scorers is impressive, it’s not the main thing that allows him to be such an intriguing prospect. That is due to his upside as a point forward, the tremendous energy that he brings, and how he always seems to find a way to either make the right decision or be in the right place at the right time.
While leading the Rio Grande Valley Vipers Vipers to a G League title was the right way for him to continue to grow during the 2021-22 season, it’s clear that he’s destined for more in the world of pro basketball. Is that future going to come as part of the Houston Rockets, who he’s currently with as a two-way player? Or is he destined to make his name on the NBA stage with one of the other 29 teams? The answer to that will be coming very soon. Despite that uncertain future, it’s clear that Trevelin Queen is an electrifying player with a tremendous future ahead of him in the world of basketball.