Inside The Nets

Brooklyn Nets Film Room: How Maxwell Lewis Is Getting Jordi Fernández’s Attention

Maxwell Lewis is making the most out of his minutes.

Wilko Martinez Cachero

Mar 15, 2025; Brooklyn, New York, USA; Brooklyn Nets swingman Maxwell Lewis (27) drives past Boston Celtics guard Jrue Holiday (4) during the first half at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: John Jones-Imagn Images
Mar 15, 2025; Brooklyn, New York, USA; Brooklyn Nets swingman Maxwell Lewis (27) drives past Boston Celtics guard Jrue Holiday (4) during the first half at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: John Jones-Imagn Images / John Jones-Imagn Images
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Brooklyn Nets swingman Maxwell Lewis played a career-high 22 minutes in the team’s last game, and he might finally be getting the extended minutes that he’s lacked in his NBA journey until now.

Lewis has combined for 25 points in about 38 minutes over Brooklyn’s last two games. It’s a tiny sample size, but he is shooting 71.4% from the field and from three. In that span of back-to-back contests against the Boston Celtics and Atlanta Hawks, the former Pepperdine man is also pitching in with 1.5 rebounds, 1.5 assists, 1.0 steals, and 0.5 blocks.

Lewis has never played as many minutes in consecutive games since he was drafted by the Los Angeles Lakers in the 2023 NBA Draft. He played in 34 games as a rookie, but only averaged three minutes per night, largely being confined to the team's South Bay Lakers affiliate in the G League. Lewis was sent to Brooklyn in late December as part of the Lakers’ trade for Dorian Finney-Smith and Shake Milton.

His Nets debut was marred by one of the most bizarre NBA injuries in some time, when a left tibia fracture laid him out one minute into his Brooklyn debut. Lewis subbed into the game and made a three, but very innocently got tangled up with Toronto Raptors center Jakob Poeltl on his way back down the court. When the camera panned back to Lewis, he was on the floor, in visible pain and clutching his left leg.

The 22-year-old returned in mid-February, but it hasn’t been until a month later that Lewis has gotten an extended run. Roster depth has certainly played a role — the Nets are without Cam Thomas, plus other wings like Dariq Whitehead and Tosan Evbuomwan are in the G League — but Lewis appears to have impressed head coach Jordi Fernández.

Fernández said this after the Boston game: “He did an amazing job. The energy, the running, the effort. I’m really proud of Max and he’s always been working. He’s always been a positive energy. He’s always been ready, and we called his number and he was ready to play. [...] He shows consistency with the way he works, with a positive energy towards his teammates. He was never down or angry because he was not playing. He was just ready for the opportunity and that creates that competitiveness within the group.” 

Diving into Lewis’ tape, it’s easy to see why he has earned Fernández’s trust. He is making quick and efficient decisions on a low volume of touches while also leveraging his size. In other words, Lewis is producing without having plays called for him. He is doing this in ways that Fernández has publicly mentioned liking before, such as taking threes, crashing the glass and staying engaged in games.

Starting with Lewis’ 3-point shooting, he is 5-for-7 from deep over Brooklyn’s two games. Watching these clips, it’s his understanding of spacing that stands out the most. 

In the first clip, Lewis lifts to the wing and drills the catch-and-shoot triple. He is immediate with his decision making, and he knows when and where to move while reading his teammates’ ongoing pick-and-roll. 

The second clip has Lewis giving up the ball, relocating to the corner, and hitting the three. He gets the crowd involved after, which is always good to see, but it’s also nice that Lewis has the self-awareness to give up the ball and then remain in the play. There are many players in the NBA who disengage very easily — especially taking into account that we’re approaching the end of the season — but that’s not the case here at all. 

In the final clip against Boston, Lewis catches and attacks into a one dribble stepback three. This is a high difficulty shot, but it shows where Lewis’ confidence is at. Credit to him, like Fernández said, because he basically entered this contest against the reigning NBA champions with no competitive rhythm.

Lewis attempted this tough stepback three against Atlanta a couple more times. The second clip against the Hawks is worth commenting on, since it’s another awesome example of how the Nets wing is winning Fernández over. 

In that possession, Keon Johnson initially misses a three, but Reece Beekman tracks down the long rebound. Lewis remains with the action and runs the baseline hard. He eventually rewards himself with the fly-by stepback. Head coach Fernández has the Nets playing extremely hard, and most teams might not expect a lineup featuring those three players to be as competitive.

Lewis has also made effective decisions off the catch, be that attacking closeouts or in the open court. Most NBA players nowadays need to be able to catch-and-shoot, catch-and-drive/go, or catch-and-pass, so Lewis being able to do more than just shoot spot-ups is encouraging.

Lewis can attack out of two dribbles, and he is fairly rangy with his length and strides. One clip against the Celtics, where he uses a shot fake to get downhill into a big dunk, definitely stood out. 

In general, Lewis was very solid at leveraging his 7-foot wingspan and his body control to finish at the basket, even against lengthy defenders like Luke Kornet. He can sometimes start his takeoff closer to the rim, so that is worth monitoring; however, the results were good against the Celtics and Hawks, with Lewis only missing a single attempted shot at the basket.

Nets bench boss Fernández mentioned after the Celtics game that he enjoyed how his team played in transition. Lewis has also been active in the open court, which goes back to how he’s gotten the most out of a low volume of touches. 

His shots are entirely coming out of spot-up or catch-and-go situations with very little rhythm. There are broader questions about usage and efficiency for young prospects, but Lewis has virtually gotten no run in his NBA career so far, so it’s too early for that.

Lastly, Lewis has been reliable as a connector. In this first clip, it’s a great two-way play. He is ready to help on No. 0 Dominick Barlow, who is running the floor rim-to-rim, but he’s also explosive enough to get in the passing lane, pick off the pass and assist the fast break.

Lewis was also unselfish at making the extra pass or reading the floor fairly decisively. The former Lakers swingman is definitely more of a score-first player as a whole, but he’s not selfish. Next, Lewis and the Nets have a rematch against the Celtics at the TD Garden on Tuesday night.

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Wilko Martinez Cachero
WILKO MARTINEZ CACHERO

Wilko is a journalist and producer from Madrid, Spain. He is also the founder of FLOOR and CEILING on YouTube, focusing on the NBA Draft and youth basketball.

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