Maxwell Lewis catching Nets attention with…
At this level of their rebuild, the remaining of this Nets season is about subsequent season.
It’s about development.
And youth.
And developing gamers like Maxwell Lewis, who has gone from forgotten man to nice shock in a matter of days.
The youngest Net on the ground this previous weekend was additionally among the many best.
In a weekend back-to-back towards the Celtics and Hawks, Lewis had 25 factors on 5-for-7 capturing from behind the arc in 38 minutes, posting a team-leading plus-28.
This from a participant who’d scored simply 21 factors in his profession getting into the weekend.
In simply three months, Lewis has gone from being traded to being injured, from a damaged leg to a profession breakthrough.
And all of the whereas, the 22-year-old Pepperdine product has introduced an infectious power, first within the locker room and now on the court docket.
“I like what I saw,” Jordi Fernández stated of Lewis, who scored three factors within the Nets’ 104-96 loss to the Celtics on Tuesday evening in Boston. “Max has been unbelievable those last two games. … So, happy for him. His energy is contagious. And you can tell his teammates on the bench every time he does something positive, they celebrate. That’s the most important thing. You see that chemistry.”
Maxwell Lewis has been a nice shock for the Nets over these previous few video games. Noah Ok. Murray / New York Post
First got here 15 factors on 6-for-7 capturing and 3-for-3 from deep in 16 minutes Saturday towards Boston.
Then Lewis adopted with 10 factors on 4-for-7 capturing — and 2-for-4 from deep — in 22 minutes of a win over Atlanta on Sunday.
Considering he’d logged simply 22 minutes whole for Brooklyn earlier than that, it was a shocking flip of occasions — one he was seeking to proceed Tuesday in Boston.
“I’ve got to give him a lot of credit,” Cam Johnson stated. “He is available in and will get traded — it’s not simple, first time being traded — first sport he performs with us, hits a 3 and will get damage on the identical play. So now you simply get traded, you’re out a month and he don’t complain. He reveals up, he works day by day, works onerous.
Maxwell Lewis (27) and Luke Kornet battle for a free ball during the Nets’ 104-96 loss to the Celtics on March 18, 2025. AP
“He’s just a funny guy overall, too. He’s become known throughout the team as just bringing that fun energy, sometimes a little crazy at times but we love it, and we love him for it. And seeing his success on the court, you can see how excited everybody gets for that, because everybody knows the work you put in behind the scenes and just how good of a teammate he is day in and day out.”
That commerce was Dec. 29, half of the return for Dorian Finney-Smith.
The Lakers had thought enough of Lewis within the 2023 draft that they paid Indiana $4 million to maneuver up simply seven spots to take him No. 40 general within the second spherical.
Then L.A. handed him a four-year, $7 million deal, the primary two years assured.
After spending most of his rookie marketing campaign with the South Bay Lakers, Lewis was averaging 18.4 factors and 6.9 boards within the G-League when Nets normal supervisor Sean Marks needed him included alongside with D’Angelo Russell and three second-round picks.
Maxwell Lewis drives previous Georges Niang during the Nets’ win over the Hawks on March 16 2025. Getty Images
But one minute into his New Year’s Day debut, Lewis broke his left tibia.
The 6-foot-7 wing returned to the court docket Feb. 12, however made simply 5 short cameos — till this previous weekend. Lewis bought his likelihood, and aggressively seized it.
“I was thinking, just catch and shoot, be ready. I’m so used to hesitating and putting the ball on the ground, just doing too much. And I felt like [keep it] short and simple, and I felt like I belong in the league. So it felt good to me,” Lewis stated. “I just feel normal.”
Lewis is out to show he belongs. He’s youthful than each Net different than Noah Clowney and Dariq Whitehead.
He’s vying with younger wings Jalen Wilson and Ziaire Williams, the latter a restricted free agent with a hefty qualifying offer of a minimum of $7.98 million.
Meanwhile, Lewis has group choices of simply $2.2 million and $2.4 million the following two years, with solely $100,000 assured for 2025-26.
He’ll use these ultimate 13 video games after Tuesday in TD Garden to show he’s price that.
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