New Orleans Pelicans guard Didi Louzada scored his first points in the NBA after making his debut with the team Wednesday on the road against the Dallas Mavericks.
Of course, Louzada was the 35th pick in 2019 and spent the last two seasons in the National Basketball League with the Sydney Kings. He appeared in 45 games between the two seasons, averaging 10.3 points, 3.8 rebounds and 1.8 assists.
The Pelicans reportedly signed Louzada to a two-year contract.
Louzada checked into the contest with 2:40 to go in the third quarter and then proceeded to play all 12 minutes in the fourth quarter. He finished with two points and one rebound during the 125-107 loss, while he was a team-high plus-10 on the court.
“I really like what he did defensively,” Pelicans head coach Stan Van Gundy said. “I thought he looked really good defensively. He got into the ball on (Luka) Doncic, who is a great player. He got over screens, fought hard, has a really solid base, moves his feet well. I thought it was a real positive for his first NBA game. You couldn’t be in a much tougher situation.”
Watch Didi Louzada on defense pic.twitter.com/Xddixs6JA5
— Louis Prejean (@LouisPrejean) May 13, 2021
Prior to the contest, Louzada didn’t have much practice time with the team after signing on April 27. Van Gundy said the team would eventually work him into the lineup over the final week of the season and did just that on Wednesday.
Given the circumstances, Van Gundy thought Louzada played well.
“You’re going to play your first game, you’ve practiced one time and it was a half-ass practice,” Van Gundy said. “You’ve gone through some walkthroughs in a hotel and then we send you out there and say, ‘Guard Luka Doncic!’ It couldn’t have been a much harder debut and I thought he did a really good job.”
.@Didi's first points as a Pelican! pic.twitter.com/SpZfRo8wmZ
— New Orleans Pelicans (@PelicansNBA) May 13, 2021
With the loss, the Pelicans were eliminated from play-in contention. The team has just two games left in the season, which could pave the way for Louzada to log more playing time with the team eliminated from the playoff race.
The team feels as though his time in the NBL helped prepare him for this opportunity and believes he can be a key rotational player moving forward next season.
This post originally appeared on Rookie Wire! Follow us on Facebook!
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