Though the New Orleans Pelicans are one of the youngest franchises in the NBA, they've still managed to make headlines in their brief history in the league. Changing stadiums, addresses, ownership and even superstars have made this interesting franchise from The Big Easy a little bit more colorful. Here are some of the notable moments in New Orleans Pelicans history, ranked.
5. Tom Benson acquisition and team rebrand (2012)
New Orleans Saints team owner Tom Benson bought the franchise in April of 2012. There was going to be a lot of changes with Benson being in charge and one of the first things he focused on was to rebrand the franchise. As intriguing as it sounded, New Orleans Hornets never really fit with the culture and the spirit of New Orleans so the new front office wanted to come up with something that would resonate with everyone in the city. It took them almost a year before they finally came up with “Pelicans” – the state bird of Louisiana. The new name quickly resonated with the city and this new image gave fans new hope for their beloved franchise.
4. The arrival of Anthony Davis (2012)
A welcome addition to Benson's newly acquired squad was a young, athletic prospect named Anthony Davis. Davis started turning heads in high school, playing for the Perspectives Charter School in Chicago. The young Davis was growing non-stop (literally and figuratively), as his basketball accolades continue to build alongside his height. He grew from being 6 feet 0 inches in his freshman year to a whopping 6 feet and 10 inches in his senior year as he committed to the University of Kentucky for college. After a record-setting year with the Wildcats, Davis decided to forego his sophomore year and declared to join the 2012 NBA Draft where he was picked first overall by New Orleans. Davis signed a 3-year $16 million contract with the team and was set to be the Pelicans' first franchise player.
3. Chris Paul and Hurricane Katrina (2005)
It was August 29, 2005 when Hurricane Katrina brought devastation to the city of New Orleans and the rest of Louisiana. This happened a month before the team was about to start their 2005 season training camp and the franchise had to relocate and uproot their season to Oklahoma City where they would play their next two seasons. There was a glimmer of hope amid all the destruction as the team picked Wake Forest standout Chris Paul as the fourth pick in the 2005 NBA Draft just a couple of months before the tragedy. As a rookie, Paul would rally the franchise to a 38-44 record. The sly point guard would quickly prove that he was that year's steal of the draft as and further establish himself as one of the most elite guards in the NBA.
2. Western Conference Semifinals (2018)
Though the franchise have had their fair share of playoff runs, arguably one of their best playoff stints was in the 2018 NBA Playoffs. The Pelicans were seemingly rebuilding again with Anthony Davis as their centerpiece. In the previous season, they acquired fellow-Kentucky alum DeMarcous Cousins to form a formidable front court with Davis and even added key pieces like Rajon Rondo and Nikola Mirotic to further boost their chances. Although they lost Cousins to a season-ending injury prior to the playoffs, the Pelicans were on their way to the playoffs as the sixth seed to face the Portland Trail Blazers in the first round. Portland was the favorite to win the match-up but New Orleans shocked the world and swept the Blazers to advance to the Western Conference semis.
1. Zion era begins (2019)
2019 would mark an interesting shift in the New Orleans as a new era in the Pelicans franchise was about to commence. It wasn't an ideal start of the year as their main guy Anthony Davis was seemingly unhappy with the team and was demanding for a trade – which would be a looming cloud for the coming months for the franchise. A glimmer of hope sparked come April as the team would name David Griffin as their new VP of basketball operations which would be the start of some major moves for the franchise. One of Griffin's first major moves was to finally release Davis come June in a trade with the Los Angeles Lakers to acquire Brandon Ingram, Lonzo Ball, Josh Hart and a couple of draft picks. A few key pieces that would perfectly complement the arrival of their 2019 lottery pick – Zion Williamson.
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