No. 21 – Los Angeles Lakers | |
---|---|
Position | Small forward |
League | NBA |
Personal information | |
Born | Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. | July 27, 2002
Listed height | 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) |
Listed weight | 195 lb (88 kg) |
Career information | |
High school |
|
College | Pepperdine (2021–2023) |
NBA draft | 2023: 2nd round, 40th overall pick |
Selected by the Denver Nuggets | |
Playing career | 2023–present |
Career history | |
2023–present | Los Angeles Lakers |
2023–present | →South Bay Lakers |
Career highlights and awards | |
| |
Stats at NBA.com | |
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com | |
Maxwell Lewis (born July 27, 2002) is an American professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA), on a assignment with the South Bay Lakers of the NBA G League. He played college basketball for the Pepperdine Waves.
Lewis' father, Robert, is from Los Angeles, California, and moved for work to Las Vegas, Nevada, where Lewis was born and raised.[1] Robert served as a coach in recreational youth leagues in the Las Vegas Valley.[2] Lewis played basketball in his childhood but stopped playing organized basketball as an elementary school student at the request of his father who believed that a coach was treating him poorly.[2] Lewis instead studied the saxophone to replace his idle time but continued to play pickup basketball and trained with his older brother.[2] He had a growth spurt four years later that enabled his father to let him play basketball again and made a return in a National Junior Basketball League.[2] Lewis led the league in scoring and attracted attention from coaches but enrolled at Somerset-Losse specifically to play in its jazz and concert bands.[2]
Somerset-Losee did not have a basketball team during Lewis' freshman year so he played junior varsity at Mojave High School.[2] Somerset-Losee introduced a boys basketball team during Lewis' sophomore year in 2017–18 where he averaged 28 points and 13 rebounds per game.[2] Lewis desired greater competition than the outstate schools and other charters that Somerset-Losee played so he transferred to Ed W. Clark High School and reclassified to the graduating class of 2021.[2][3] He was relegated to junior varsity amid the transfer rules of the Nevada Interscholastic Activities Association and decided to transfer again to AZ Compass Prep.[2][3]
Lewis thrived against national competition during his junior season in 2019–20 and earned scholarship offers from high major college programs.[2] On July 21, 2020, he announced that he would bypass college and his senior high school season in favor of Chameleon BX, a preparatory program in San Francisco, which was designed to prepare players for the NBA draft.[2][4] Lewis trained for several months with emphasis on strength, cardio and calisthenics but departed before the program concluded.[2] He returned to Las Vegas and preserved one year of club basketball where he played in 2021 as an unsigned senior.[2] Lewis no longer had offers from the high major colleges that had recruited him but received a scholarship offer to play for the Pepperdine Waves under head coach Lorenzo Romar.[2]
Lewis missed the first three games of his career with the Waves due to the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) reviewing his eligibility after attending Chameleon BX.[5] He played as a reserve during his freshman season with the Waves and averaged 11 points per game.[2] On February 12, 2022, he suffered a season-ending wrist injury.[6] Lewis was selected to the West Coast Conference (WCC) All-Freshman team.[7]
Lewis was moved to the starting lineup during his sophomore season,[2] and averaged 16.6 points per game.[8] He was selected to the All-WCC Second Team.[2][9] Lewis gained the attention of National Basketball Association (NBA) executives throughout the season who were enticed by his physical dimensions and shot creating abilities.[8] On March 20, 2023, Lewis declared for the 2023 NBA draft.[8] He was invited to participate at the NBA Draft Combine.[10]
Lewis was selected with the 40th pick in the 2023 NBA draft by the Denver Nuggets. His draft rights were traded to the Los Angeles Lakers later in the draft.[11] On July 8, 2023, Lewis signed with the Lakers.[12]