The New Orleans Pelicans hit the jackpot on Tuesday night's NBA draft lottery when the ping pong balls determined that they would select first in the 2019 NBA draft.
Cameras caught the Pelicans ticketing staff leading up to Deputy Commissioner Mark Tatum's announcement, and they went absolutely bonkers when they found out that their Pelicans won the lottery:
#PELICANS TICKET OFFICE IS WILDIN!!’ 🔥🔥🔥 #BirdStrikes pic.twitter.com/meihqCrWdd
— New Orleans Pelicans (@PelicansNBA) May 15, 2019
That no. 1 overall pick, obviously, all but assures that Duke phenom Zion Williamson will don a New Orleans jersey next season.
The Pelicans, which was represented by new GM David Griffin on Tuesday night's lottery, will likely select Williamson with the first overall pick. Williamson is arguably the most sought after college prospect since LeBron James, and Pelicans fans didn't waste any time from securing season tickets ahead of Zion's debut campaign in 2019-20.
The Pels ticketing office had their work cut out for them on late Tuesday night, going on overtime to take calls.
11 pm Still cookin’ 🎫 @notthefakeSVP and the @SportsCenter crew locked in 📺 #BirdStrikes pic.twitter.com/951rkswVlQ
— New Orleans Pelicans (@PelicansNBA) May 15, 2019
In fact, according to Jeff Duncan of NOLA.com, the Pelicans staff worked until 1 a.m. as they reportedly sold around 2,000 season tickets nearly 4 hours after they got the first pick.
In the hours immediately after the Zion news and up until 1 a.m. Wednesday, the @PelicansNBA took orders for approximately 2,000 new season tickets, twice as many as they did after earning the No. 1 pick in 2012 (Anthony Davis).
— Jeff Duncan (@JeffDuncan_) May 15, 2019
To further prove that the Zion Williamson hype is real, Google searches for “Pelicans Season Tickets” spiked up just minutes after, according to Front Office Sports.
Article Continues BelowPelicans get the first pick in the NBA Draft…
Google searches for "Pelicans Season Tickets" in the minutes after, according to @GoogleTrends. pic.twitter.com/AkLiC0ePBm
— Front Office Sports (@FOS) May 15, 2019
Prior to the lottery, the Pelicans only had a 6 percent chance of getting the number one pick. But that did not stop the ping pong balls from bouncing their way.
The franchise's fortunes turned around quickly with this announcement after it soured quickly late this season when incumbent superstar forward Anthony Davis publicly requested a trade from the team.
While Davis is reportedly standing his ground on his trade request, he might have to think about it even more now that Zion Williamson is coming.