City of Basketball Love

Owen McCue (@Owen_McCue)
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SPRING GARDEN — Nate Pierre-Louis believes he has a purpose. 

Long before he spent the past two seasons with the Los Angeles Lakers’ NBA G League affiliate, long before he was a standout at Temple, long before a prolific preps career in New Jersey, Pierre-Louis felt destined for the NBA.

“That was the goal right from the start,” Pierre-Louis said. “I was confident in myself. I have an undenied confidence in myself, and it comes from Christ. I really believe from when I was born I was supposed to be in the NBA, and I’m going to keep on striving and doing that.”

Pierre-Louis hasn’t gotten there yet but he’s been close enough to get a taste. 

After playing Summer League with the Lakers in 2022, the 6-foot-4 guard was a training camp invite in the fall. He suited up for the Lakers in the preseason, getting a chance to share the floor with Los Angeles’ star-studded roster that included LeBron James.

“A lot of highs and lows but you get to learn from a lot of great guys,” the 24-year-old Pierre-Louis said, reflecting on his professional career thus far. “Like last year, I had the opportunity to play with LeBron and play with Russell Westbrook. Those couple games I learned a lot from them. I looked up to a lot of those guys, to be on the same court as them was really a blessing.”

Pierre-Louis’ father was a 6-foot-8 forward at Wagner, earning a spot in the Wagner Hall of Fame before playing professionally in Turkey, South Korea, Spain and Italy. Though he didn’t quite get his father’s size, Pierre-Louis is brimming with talent.

He played at St. Peter’s Prep, St. Benedict’s and Roselle Catholic during his high school career, earning third team all-state honors as a senior. After coming to Temple as a three-star recruit, he played in 91 games for the Owls, averaging 10.9 ppg, 3.1 ap, 8.5 rpg g and 1.8 spg in 2019-20 as a junior. 

Pierre-Louis went undrafted after entering the NBA Draft in 2020 and had his first chance to play for the South Bay Lakers in the NBA G League the next season in 2021-22, starting 28 of the 32 games he played in and averaging 9.2 ppg, 4.4 rpg, 2.9 apg and 1.8 spg.

This past season, he saw action  in 29 games and averaged 8.3 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 1.8 apg and 1.0 spg in 18.5 minutes per contest. His peers voted him the G League’s Jason Collier Sportsmanship Award Winner after the season.

“Honestly, it’s just giving the glory to God, giving the glory to Jesus Christ just waking up and trusting his promise, trusting his purpose, understanding that he put a dream in my heart and not really having any anxiety or any doubt that it’s going to happen,” Pierre-Louis said. “That’s been the main thing and the only thing.”

Pierre-Louis said he’s been busy in the gym this summer, getting in runs and playing in pro-ams like the Rumph Classic. He also got married two weeks ago.

His second Rumph Classic stint (he also played in 2021) lasted just a pair of games, but he impressed with 20 points in the opener and flashed his scoring ability in spurts during a 12-point effort on Friday.

“Everybody talks about my defense,” Pierre-Louis said. “I’m a good defender, but I can’t wait to show what I can do on the offensive end too. I can be reliable. I can play both sides. I can be a two-way basketball player, a very high-level one. That’s the goal every single day is to gain confidence in that and make others see what I can do on the offensive end.”

He has some evidence to back that up as his shooting percentages jumped from 49 percent from the floor and 25.3 percent from 3-point range in his first season with South Bay to 57.8 percent from the floor and 37 percent from deep in 2022-23.

Pierre-Louis isn’t sure where he will play this upcoming season as he’s still a free agent. Wherever he ends up, he’s sure to keep his dream alive.

“Everybody just tells me to stay focused and just keep going and be patient because everybody thinks I’m a leaguer,” Pierre-Louis said. “Everybody knows I can play at that level. I didn’t meet one person who told me I cannot play in the NBA. … I know I belong. I know I can get there.”