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The past couple of seasons, the New Orleans Pelicans have been hit with injury woes. It’s mostly centered around franchise star Zion Williamson who has only played more than 29 games in a season once in his career. This season, Williamson has been relatively healthy but the Pelicans have had multiple rotation players sidelined. What that's done though is open up an opportunity for Pelicans rookie Jordan Hawkins.
Jordan Hawkins is the budding star the Pelicans need
When the Pelicans drafted Jordan Hawkins with the No. 14 overall pick in the 2023 NBA Draft, not much was expected of him even though he was a fairly high draft pick. Hawkins was coming off a very strong college season during which he helped UConn win a national championship. But he seemed more likely to be a rookie who was going to take some time to develop.
Instead, Hawkins has come out of the gates blazing. Hawkins was probably going to be penciled in as the backup shooting guard for this season anyways, but recent absences from C.J. McCollum, Jose Alvarado and Trey Murphy at guard and on the wings have allowed Hawkins to flourish with a defined role early in the season.
He already was off to a good start prior to the devastating blow the Pelicans recently received regarding McCollum. Hawkins had been alternating between coming off the bench and starting and was making an immediate impact. He scored in double figures in three of the team's first six games.
When McCollum was sideline for the game against the Denver Nuggets earlier this week, Hawkins was put in the starting lineup. He responded in a major way with 31 points, seven rebounds, three assists and one steal. He shot 10-19 (52.6 percent) from the field and 7-14 (50 percent) from the three point line.
What was also impressive about that game is that Hawkins was playing point guard. He's a natural scoring guard but if he brings the playmaking game along that's going to be a huge development. He's going to get every opportunity to have the ball in his hands during McCollum's absence.
Overall, Hawkins is averaging 12.6 points per game, 4.0 rebounds and 1.7 assists with splits of 38.5 percent shooting from the field, 36.4 percent shooting from the three point line and 72.7 percent shooting from the free throw line.
He was a prolific shooter in college and it's translated to the NBA. He's averaging close to eight three point attempts per game. He's 19th overall in the NBA as a rookie in terms of made three point shots. He's also top five in the league in rookie points per game behind only Victor Wembanyama, Chet Holmgren and Brandon Miller. Those players were all top three picks. If he keeps this up he is a lock for the All-Rookie First Team.
Hawkins didn't have a very efficient NBA Summer League shooting wise, so that raised questions from Pelicans fans regarding his game translating to the NBA. It's safe to say that he's answered any doubters so far. Whether or not he is a budding star remains to be seen but he's off to a phenomenal start to his NBA career.
If, and when the Pelicans get back to full strength this season, they know what they have in Hawkins. He's seemingly supplanted Dyson Daniels in the rotation. The future is bright for the young wing.
