New Orleans Pelicans
The New Orleans Pelicans are an NBA basketball team in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States, playing at Smoothie King Center.
Contents30 sections
Key facts
2002
Moved to New Orleans, retaining the Hornets name.[1]
2004Move to the West
Moved to the Western Conference for 2004–05.[2]
June 2005Drafting Paul
Selected Chris Paul fourth overall.[2]
September 2005
Temporarily moved to Oklahoma City after Hurricane Katrina.[3]
2007Return
Returned to New Orleans for a full season.[4]
2008
Finished the regular season 56–26.[2]
2010NBA announces purchase plan
On December 6, the NBA announced plans to purchase the New Orleans Hornets after minority owner Gary Chouest declined to buy George Shinn’s majority stake. David Stern said league ownership would stabilize operations and provide funding while a new buyer willing to keep the team in New Orleans was sought. The transaction still required a Board of Governors vote.[5]
December 2011Paul departs
Traded Chris Paul to the Clippers.[2]
June 2012Benson purchase
Tom Benson purchased the team on June 15. He already owned the New Orleans SaintsNew Orleans SaintsThe New Orleans Saints are an NFL professional American football team in the NFC South, playing at Caesars Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana. Awarded a franchise in 1966, they began play in 1967. Sean Payton and Drew Brees led the club to victory in Super Bowl XLIV. Gayle Benson owns the team, and Kellen Moore has been head coach since 2025.Open the full entry and rebranded the basketball team as the Pelicans the following year.[6]
June 2012Drafting Davis
Selected Anthony Davis first overall.[2]
April 2013Renaming
The New Orleans Hornets officially became the Pelicans.[7]
2014Historical records
Charlotte regained the 1988–2002 history.[8]
Pelicans season records begin with 2002–03.[2]
2015
Went 45–37 and returned to the playoffs.[2]
March 2018
Gayle Benson took control after Tom Benson’s death.[9]
April 2018
Swept Portland 4–0 in round one.[10]
June 2019
Selected Zion Williamson first overall.[11]
July 2019Davis departs
Traded Anthony Davis to the Lakers.[2]
December 2023
Renewed the Smoothie King arena naming agreement.[12]
July 2024
Acquired Dejounte Murray in a trade.[13]
February 2025
Traded Brandon Ingram to Toronto.[14]
2025
Joe Dumars became Executive VP of Basketball Operations.[15]
July 2025
Acquired Jordan Poole and Saddiq Bey.[16]
November 2025
Fired Willie Green; James Borrego became interim coach.[17]
April 2026
Finished the regular season 26–56.[18]
May 2026
Appointed Jamahl Mosley head coach.[19]
September 2026Trade
Acquired Taj Gibson and AJ Johnson.[20]
September 2026Signing
Signed Bennedict Mathurin.[21]
Home arena
The Pelicans play at Smoothie King Center in New Orleans. It opened on October 29, 1999, and reopened after renovations on October 22, 2013. The arena also hosts other sporting and entertainment events.[22]
Related Organizations, Websites, and Public Accounts
New Orleans Pelicans: Official website: https://www.nba.com/pelicans/ (opens in a new window).[23]
New Orleans Pelicans: X: https://twitter.com/PelicansNBA (opens in a new window).[24]
New Orleans Pelicans: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pelicansnba/ (opens in a new window).[25]
New Orleans Pelicans: YouTubeYouTubeYouTube is Google’s video-sharing and creator platform, founded in 2005 by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim and acquired by Google in 2006. Built around video uploading, viewing, and creator earnings, the platform has developed Shorts, YouTube Music, Premium, YouTube TV, and products for children, and is headquartered in San Bruno, California, United States.Open the full entry: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHvG7tf62PwI04ZRfoptRSw (opens in a new window).[26]
Sources
- New Orleans, Charlotte working together on transitioning Hornets nickname (opens in a new window)
- New Orleans Pelicans 2025–26 Media Guide (opens in a new window)
- The Hornets and Hurricane Katrina: Five Years Later (opens in a new window)
- A look back at 2008 All-Star Game in New Orleans (opens in a new window)
- NBA to purchase New Orleans Hornets (opens in a new window)
- Timeline of Tom Benson’s ownership of the New Orleans Saints (opens in a new window)
- New Orleans Pelicans Officially Adopt New Namesake (opens in a new window)
- Keys to Beat Philadelphia (opens in a new window)
- Future of New Orleans Pelicans stable, even as team mourns Tom Benson’s death (opens in a new window)
- Series Recap: Pelicans Sweep Blazers (opens in a new window)
- Pelicans select Duke’s Zion Williamson with first pick in 2019 NBA Draft (opens in a new window)
- New Orleans Pelicans and Smoothie King renew arena naming rights partnership (opens in a new window)
- Pelicans acquire Dejounte Murray (opens in a new window)
- New Orleans Pelicans complete trade with Toronto Raptors (opens in a new window)
- Pelicans name Joe Dumars Executive VP of Basketball Operations (opens in a new window)
- New Orleans Pelicans complete three-team trade with Washington and Houston (opens in a new window)
- Pelicans fire Willie Green, name James Borrego interim coach (opens in a new window)
- New Orleans Pelicans 2026–27 Preseason Game Notes: October 14 at Dallas (opens in a new window)
- Pelicans hire Jamahl Mosley as next coach (opens in a new window)
- New Orleans Pelicans complete trade with Memphis Grizzlies (opens in a new window)
- New Orleans Pelicans sign Bennedict Mathurin (opens in a new window)
- Smoothie King Center Facility Guide (opens in a new window)
- New Orleans Pelicans — official website (opens in a new window)
- New Orleans Pelicans — X (opens in a new window)
- New Orleans Pelicans — Instagram (opens in a new window)
- New Orleans Pelicans — YouTube (opens in a new window)