50 Fun Facts About New Orleans Pelicans

What name did the Pelicans' home arena, formerly New Orleans Arena, take in 2014?

Smoothie King Center. The chain began in 1973 in suburban Kenner, where Steve Kuhnau blended fruit drinks because he couldn't tolerate milkshakes; its name went up days before the arena hosted the 2014 All-Star Game.

From which city did George Shinn relocate the Hornets to New Orleans in 2002?

Charlotte. Voters there rejected a publicly funded arena for the unpopular Shinn, so he left; two years later the city was back in the league with a new team, the Bobcats.

Where did the Hornets temporarily relocate for two seasons after Hurricane Katrina?

Oklahoma City. A year after the Hornets went home, Seattle's SuperSonics moved there for good and became the Thunder, still the state's only major-league team.

Which NBA great's team reclaimed the Hornets name after New Orleans dropped it?

Michael Jordan. His Bobcats became the Hornets again in 2014 and were handed the old team's 1988–2002 records, which officially turned the Pelicans into a 2002 expansion team.

Which ABA founding team played in New Orleans from 1967 to 1970 before moving to Memphis?

The Buccaneers. They reached the first ABA finals in 1968, losing Game 7 to Connie Hawkins's Pittsburgh Pipers, but drew thin crowds in borrowed college gyms and left to become the Memphis Pros.

Which undrafted guard earned the nickname 'Grand Theft' with the Pelicans by sneaking up behind dribblers to steal the ball?

Jose Alvarado. He would hide along the baseline, then come up behind an unsuspecting dribbler; the trick worked so often that opponents began to game-plan for it whenever he checked in.

Which team nearly moved to New Orleans in 1994 before the NBA blocked the sale?

Minnesota Timberwolves. A group fronted by boxing promoter Bob Arum's Top Rank agreed to pay $152 million and play in the Superdome, but the league doubted its financing and blocked the sale.

Louisville's bid to land the relocating Hornets collapsed after which newly hired college coach opposed sharing an arena?

Rick Pitino. A 2017 Bloomberg investigation reported that city leaders had a non-binding deal with the team, but Pitino and his athletic director would not share a new arena, or the city, with the NBA.

Which team, founded in New Orleans in 1974, did the Hornets beat in their first home game there in 2002?

Utah Jazz. They left for Salt Lake City in 1979 and kept the name anyway, then came back 23 years later as the visitors for the NBA's return to the city and lost 100–75.

Whose number 7 did the Hornets retire at halftime of their first New Orleans game?

Pete Maravich. He never played for the Hornets: the honour recognised his college years at LSU and his three All-Star seasons with the city's first NBA team in the 1970s.

In their dismal 18–64 season of 2004–05, the Hornets traded which All-Star point guard?

Baron Davis. Two years later he led an eighth seed past a 67-win top seed in one of the biggest upsets in playoff history; the Hornets used their next draft pick to find his successor.

From which college did the Hornets draft Chris Paul in 2005?

Wake Forest. The day after he signed there, his grandfather was murdered; in his next high school game Paul scored 61 points, one for each year of the man's life, then missed a free throw on purpose.

In 2007–08 Chris Paul led the Hornets to 56 wins but finished second in MVP voting to whom?

Kobe Bryant. It was his first MVP award in 12 seasons and stayed his only one; his Lakers had edged Paul's Hornets for the conference's top seed by a single game.

Which Hornets forward joined Chris Paul as a first-time All-Star when New Orleans hosted the game in 2008?

David West. In 2015 he opted out of his Pacers contract and took a pay cut from $12 million to about $1.5 million to chase a title, and it worked: he won championships in 2017 and 2018.

Which veteran coach left the broadcast booth to lead the Pelicans in 2020–21 and was gone after one season?

Stan Van Gundy. He swapped a TNT microphone for a young roster, went 31–41 and missed the play-in, and within months was back calling games on television.

Who bought the Hornets from George Shinn in December 2010 for about $300 million?

The NBA itself. With no viable buyer in sight, the league stepped in to keep the team where it was, which left commissioner David Stern with the final say on its trades until a new owner arrived.

Which team got Chris Paul in December 2011 after David Stern vetoed a trade to the Lakers?

Los Angeles Clippers. Days after the Lakers deal was voided, Paul landed with their arena co-tenants instead, and the Clippers' alley-oop attack was soon nicknamed 'Lob City'.

Which NFL owner bought the Hornets in April 2012 for $338 million?

Tom Benson. The Saints owner had to accept a lease already agreed with the state, which tied the team to New Orleans through 2024.

Whom did the Hornets select with the first overall pick in the 2012 draft?

Anthony Davis. He entered high school as a 6-foot guard nobody was recruiting, then grew to 6-foot-10 and kept his ball-handling, which made him the top pick after one title-winning year at Kentucky.

The Pelicans' seasonal mascot is a giant baby named after which New Orleans treat?

King cake. Bakers hide a tiny baby figure inside the Carnival-season cake, so the team's oversized version roams games each year for as long as the cake is in the shops.

Long before the NBA team, the New Orleans Pelicans were a minor-league club in which sport?

Baseball. The minor-league Pelicans played for decades and once fielded 'Shoeless' Joe Jackson; the NBA team's owner already held the rights to the old name when the Hornets rebranded.

The Pelicans noted that all three of their team colours are found on what?

The New Orleans city flag. Its red and blue stripes frame three gold fleurs-de-lis; the team added that its blue echoes the state flag and its red the blood a mother pelican was said to feed her young.

Which All-Star point guard did the Pelicans get from Philadelphia on 2013 draft night for Nerlens Noel?

Jrue Holiday. He sat out the start of 2016–17 to care for his wife, soccer star Lauren Holiday, who had a brain tumour removed weeks after giving birth; he later won titles with Milwaukee and Boston.

Which first-time head coach took the Pelicans from a 1–12 start to the playoffs in 2021–22?

Willie Green. His team won two play-in games to get there, then took two games off the top-seeded Suns, the club he had left as an assistant a year earlier.

Which team swept the Pelicans in their first playoff appearance under the new name in 2015?

Golden State Warriors. The sweep opened their run to a first title in 40 years, and before the Finals began the Pelicans had hired the champions' lead assistant, Alvin Gentry, as their next coach.

Which centre did the Pelicans get from Sacramento in 2017 for a package including Buddy Hield?

DeMarcus Cousins. He played in the 2017 All-Star Game in New Orleans as a visiting King and was traded to the home team the next day; a torn Achilles ended his stay in under a year.

The Pelicans landed Nikola Mirotić in 2018 after which Bulls teammate punched him in practice?

Bobby Portis. The punch left Mirotić with a concussion and facial fractures before the season began; within four months he had joined New Orleans, where he helped win a playoff series.

Which team did the Pelicans sweep in the 2018 first round for their second-ever playoff series win?

Portland Trail Blazers. The sixth seed swept the third without its injured All-Star centre, holding Damian Lillard to 35 percent shooting across the four games.

Who inherited ownership of the Pelicans and Saints when the team's owner died in March 2018?

Gayle Benson. His widow got both teams because, three years earlier, he had cut his daughter and grandchildren out of the succession; they sued over his competence, and a court found him fit to decide.

The Pelicans won the 2019 lottery on a six percent chance and drafted Zion Williamson first overall from which college?

Duke. His one season there was a national event: when his shoe split open seconds into a game against North Carolina, the maker's market value fell by about $1.1 billion the next day.

Which Lakers point guard came to the Pelicans in the 2019 blockbuster trade for their franchise star?

Lonzo Ball. He arrived with two teammates and three first-round picks, one of which, the fourth overall choice, New Orleans then flipped to Atlanta for three more picks.

Which executive was hired in April 2019 to run the Pelicans' basketball operations, replacing Dell Demps?

David Griffin. He had been general manager of the Cleveland team that won the 2016 title, and within a month of arriving he was the Pelicans' man on stage when they won the draft lottery.

Zion Williamson's NBA debut was delayed until January 2020 by surgery on which part of his body?

Knee. He tore a meniscus in preseason, then lit up a quiet debut by scoring 17 straight points in about three minutes of the fourth quarter, finishing with 22 in only 18 minutes.

Which Pelicans forward won Most Improved Player and made his first All-Star team in 2019–20?

Brandon Ingram. A blood clot in his arm had ended his last Lakers season early; a year later he was an All-Star, with a 49-point night in an overtime win that January.

Which guard, then president of the players' union, did the Pelicans acquire at the 2022 trade deadline?

CJ McCollum. He had succeeded former Hornets star Chris Paul in the union job only months earlier; in New Orleans he steered a 36–46 team through the play-in and into the playoffs.

Which 2021 second-round pick made the All-Defensive First Team for the Pelicans in 2023–24?

Herb Jones. He was the SEC's player of the year at Alabama, yet 34 names were called before his on draft night; three seasons later he was voted one of the league's five best defenders.

Which All-Star guard did the Pelicans acquire from Atlanta in 2024 in a trade built around Dyson Daniels?

Dejounte Murray. The deal soured fast: he tore an Achilles after 31 games, while Daniels, the guard sent to Atlanta, led the league in steals and was voted its most improved player.

To which team was the Pelicans' All-Star forward traded in February 2025?

Toronto Raptors. He arrived injured and never played for them that season, yet six days after the trade they gave him a three-year, $120 million contract extension.

In which city did the Pelicans play two preseason games in October 2025 as part of an NBA x NBL series?

Melbourne. No NBA team had ever played in Australia; the state of Victoria helped bring the Pelicans to Rod Laver Arena, the tennis venue, to face two local NBL clubs.

What is the name of the Pelicans' mascot, whose original design frightened some fans in 2013?

Pierre. Rather than quietly swap the costume, the team announced that its mascot had undergone 'reconstructive surgery' with the team doctor, and he returned less than four months after his debut with a redesigned head.

Which team did the Hornets beat in 2008 to win the franchise's first playoff series in New Orleans?

Dallas Mavericks. Chris Paul scored 35 points in his first playoff game and the second-seeded Hornets won in five; Dallas dismissed its coach the day after the series ended.

Which three colours did the Pelicans' Mardi Gras-themed 'City' uniforms use?

Purple, green and gold. They are Carnival's own colours; their meanings date from 1892, when the Rex krewe's parade 'Symbolism of Colors' cast them as justice, faith and power.

The 'New Orleans' wordmark on the Pelicans' jerseys is inspired by what?

French Quarter street signs. Designer Rodney Richardson borrowed their lettering, and the team put the city's name, not its own, on both home and road jerseys, which only two other NBA teams did in 2013.

What is the Pelicans' logo combining a pelican, a fleur-de-lis and a basketball called?

Bird-de-Lis. It sat on the back collar of the first Pelicans jerseys for a single season, until the league claimed that spot for its own logo, and resurfaced on the waistband of the shorts.

The Pelicans' 2023–24 red 'Statement' uniform carries which two-word nickname for New Orleans?

Crescent City. The words replaced 'Pelicans' across the chest; the nickname comes from the sharp bend in the Mississippi along which the early city was built.

Missing the 2020 playoffs with the Pelicans ended which veteran's run of 13 straight postseason trips?

JJ Redick. He had reached the playoffs in all 13 of his earlier seasons; in 2024 the Lakers made him head coach though he had only ever coached his son's fourth-grade team.

After a 2014 records deal, the Pelicans reissued number 13, once retired for which late Hornets guard?

Bobby Phills. The Baton Rouge native died in a car crash in January 2000 and his number was retired weeks later; when the old Hornets' records changed hands, his banner went with them and his 13 was reissued.

Which coach did the Hornets fire after a 3–6 start in 2009, with GM Jeff Bower taking over on the bench?

Byron Scott. Only 18 months earlier he had been voted NBA Coach of the Year for the 56-win season; the general manager who replaced him finished 34–39 and went back upstairs.

Which team eliminated the Chris Paul-led Hornets in seven games in the 2008 conference semifinals?

San Antonio Spurs. The home team won each of the first six games, then the defending champions took Game 7 in New Orleans, 91–82.

Which 'Bad Boys' Pistons great, a Louisiana native, took charge of the Pelicans' basketball operations in 2025?

Joe Dumars. Born in Shreveport, he was the gentleman among Detroit's bruising Bad Boys: the first winner of the NBA's sportsmanship award, whose trophy now carries his name.