Malique Lewis

Malique Lewis grew up playing soccer, picking up basketball in his teenage years. He grew up in San Fernando, Trinidad and Tobago before moving to Spain as a 16-year-old to play for Fuenlabrada in the Liga ACB. After a small role in 2021-22, Lewis saw an uptick in workload and production in 2022-23, averaging 4.8 points and 3.5 rebounds in 17.2 minutes. Following that season, he joined the G League's Mexico City Capitanes, averaging 8.3 points, 5.8 rebounds, 1.3 assists and 1.0 blocks in 25.2 minutes. Then, Lewis joined the South East Melbourne Phoenix of the Australian NBL for the 2024-25 season. In 37 appearances, he averaged 6.9 points, 4.2 rebounds and 1.0 assists in 21.0 minutes. The most refined parts of Lewis' profile are his defense and athleticism. He has the size and quickness to be a good defender on the perimeter with potential to work well in a switching scheme. Offensively, he's best finishing plays off cuts or in transition, with his jump shooting being inconsistent. While Lewis isn't a primary playmaker, he boasts a good assist-to-turnover ratio, knowing how to take care of the ball. The key to Lewis' development in the NBA will be his jumpshot, but he may be able to find some minutes initially due to his upside as a defender and transition threat. He shares similarities to players like Jaden McDaniels, Maurice Harkless and Al-Farouq Aminu.