The New Orleans Pelicans have emerged as legitimate contenders in the Western Conference, jumping out to a 4-2 start, placing them fourth in the Western Conference.
Yes, it is still very early in the NBA season, however, New Orleans has had some very impressive victories already. The Pelicans have already swept the season series against the Raptors, and have beaten the well-coached Spurs and Thunder teams.
It has been a team effort for the most part, but a large portion of their early success has to be attributed to Pelicans all-star forward, Brandon Ingram.
Ingram has been absolutely phenomenal this season, putting up All-NBA numbers.
In his first five games, Ingram was averaging 22.5 points, 7 rebounds and 5.6 assists per game on 46% shooting. Ingram is also shooting a career high 40% from deep this season, proving his critics who questioned his jump shot wrong.
Diving deeper into the advanced stats and Ingram becomes even more impressive. Ingram's assist percentage is 31.2% with a PER of 23.2. He is really living up to his second overall pick potential.
After the Pelicans win against the Raptors on Saturday, the media asked Eric Bledsoe about Brandon Ingram's recent hot streak. He responded like any great teammate would.
Eric Bledsoe on BI: "I know it's early in the season, but all I can say is MVP."
— Will Guillory (@WillGuillory) January 3, 2021
Brandon Ingram getting some MVP chants from the 750 in attendance.
— Will Guillory (@WillGuillory) January 3, 2021
If anyone knows what an MVP is made of, Eric Bledsoe probably knows. He played alongside the MVP in the last two seasons with the Bucks.
Does that make his claim legitimate? Let's not get ahead of ourselves. The NBA season has barely started, and crowning someone's arrival after five games seems premature.
MVP or not, it's time to face the fact that Brandon Ingram is a problem for everyone else in the league. He'll be an all-star for the Pelicans in the years to come.
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