New Orleans Pelicans head coach Willie Green has shared his belief that Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram are the best duo in the NBA. “I am going to keep saying it: Best freaking duo in the NBA,” Green said after the team's first win. “They don’t talk about you enough. Best freaking duo in the NBA. You guys have to show up every night and be dominant.”
While a nice sentiment and the proper attitude to have with young All-Stars, the proclamation does not exactly stand up to scrutiny. Williamson and Ingram are arguably closer to 10th than 5th all things considered. They will not rise up these rankings until the Pelicans win a playoff series.
First, Steph Curry and Klay Thompson still exist. They led the Golden State Warriors into the Smoothie King Center and strolled away with a comfortable 28-point victory over the Pelicans. Steph had 42 points and Thompson watched the show from the sidelines. Williamson had 19 points. Ingram was out with an injury. After all, you can't be the champs until you beat the champs, so Steph and Klay still hold the top spot.
Williamson, Ingram's case falls short
Steph and Klay have the track record but Jamal Murray and Nikola Jokic are the defending champs. Replace Murray with Michael Porter Jr. or Aaron Gordon and it's still a better pairing than Brandon Ingram and Zion Williamson with the New Orleans Pelicans. NBA Finals MVP Jokic is that good, though it is close when everyone is healthy. Look at the standings from last New Year's Eve. However, ‘when healthy.' That qualifier also applies to the LA Clippers (Paul George, Kahwi Leonard) and Phoenix Suns (Kevin Durant, Devin Booker).
Those are top-tier NBA West Conference tag teams. Just a rung below the champions are Luka and Kyrie in Dallas, LeBron and AD in Los Angeles, and Anthony Edwards and Rudy Gobert in Minnesota. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Chet Holmgren already look formidable.
The Eastern Conference has Boston's Jay's (Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown) and Milwaukee's one-name icons (Dame and Giannis). The ‘don't dare overlook us' Miami Vice villains (Jimmy Butler, Bam Adebayo) have made recent NBA Finals runs. Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey are showing real promise in Philadelphia.
The Pelicans duo is close to being in the conversation, but close doesn't cut it in June. Until they do something in the playoffs, Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram will be on the outside looking in when it comes to the Top 5 NBA Duos Debate.
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