DOHA (Qatar) - Chavaughn Lewis hardly needed time to acclimate to the FIBA West Asia Super League (WASL) stage following an impressive debut on Tuesday night.

“I think day by day, as the time goes on and I get more comfortable with my teammates, and they get comfortable with me, I'll be able to increase my leadership role.”- Chavaughn Lewis

The 30-year-old almost finished with a triple-double, tallying 27 points on a 66-percent shooting clip from the field alongside 8 rebounds and 9 assists to help lead Shabab Al Ahli-Dubai to a masterful 96-63 campaign opener win over Al Shamal in Group B play of the Gulf League.

"The team, the coaching staff, the management—they give me the utmost confidence to go out and just play my game and play freely as possible," he said of his performance during the postgame press conference at the Al-Gharafa Sports Club Multi-Purpose Hall.

"For me, I just wanted to come out and give my team all I have on both defensive and offensive ends. Tonight, it happened to be me. Every night, I'm just going to come out and try to be better."

But aside from being given that much freedom on the hardwood, Lewis' impressive showing was also his way of showing how much he's embracing a leadership role.

The 1.96 M (6'5") winger from Queens, New York is adding more experience to the winningest UAE National Basketball League side, particularly in competing in FIBA club competitions.

During his first year as a professional, he saw action in the 2015-16 FIBA Europe Cup while playing for Juventus Utena. There, he posted per-game averages of 11.1 points, 3.5 rebounds, 2.1 assists, and 2.2 steals per game as he helped the Lithuanian side reach the Round of 16.

Lewis would also see himself in the Basketball Champions League in the early part of the 2019-20 season for BC Nizhny Novgorod before joining another Russian team in BC Enisey months later, which led him back to the Europe Cup although it was only a short stint.

"Just bringing my experience, bringing my leadership," said Lewis, who's also struck gold in the Balkan League and in Estonia. "You know, setting an example on the court, setting an example off the court, in practice, trying to make sure I'm on top of my game and being as disciplined as I can."

"And, communicating in difficult moments, trying to communicate with my teammates, trying to keep them positive, and keeping everybody confident at all times."

"I think day by day, as the time goes on and I get more comfortable with my teammates and they get comfortable with me, I'll be able to increase my leadership role," he added.

Those were evident against Al Shamal, when he helped Shabab Al Ahli-Dubai break the game wide open during the middle quarters and remain consistent all the way to the finish line.

As the final buzzer sounded, Lewis tallied the highest efficiency rating of the game with 37, which is the second-highest so far in the Gulf League this season.

Even with such a debut, though, it doesn't change one bit the goal of Lewis personally. "My goal personally, individually as a player, is to always, each year, be better than I was the last year," he said.

That mindset is what he would like to impart to the rest of Shabab Al Ahli-Dubai, a team that's hungry on bettering their third-place finish in the Gulf League inaugurals.

"Coming into this season that's my goal collectively for the team as well. I wanna help them be better than they were the previous year, and the year before that. So as long as we can do that, I feel like we'll have a successful season," he said.

FIBA