No. 1: A New Era
Everything felt borrowed. The team’s nickname had its origins in Charlotte. Its colors and jerseys were a mash-up of designer Alexander Julian’s trendy 1988 pinstriped creation, along with disjointed tweaks that were tacked on in 2002 (when the franchise initially moved to New Orleans) and 2008 (when the Hornets redid their uniforms). Even the team’s practice facility, the Alario Center, was not built with the intention of hosting an NBA team. By 2010, New Orleans’ professional basketball franchise essentially didn’t even have a true owner – the NBA’s 29 other teams had to step in and purchase the Hornets, the first time in league history for such an arrangement.
When the rebranded Pelicans tip off the 2013-14 season in October, it should be particularly sweet for longtime New Orleans basketball fans to finally have a team they can truly call their own.
The Pelicans nickname has a deep and rich history in the city of New Orleans, the state of Louisiana and the Gulf Coast region. A drastically different navy blue, gold and red color scheme is a much more traditional combination than the club’s previous look (and includes a nod to the city’s black-and-gold Saints). Meanwhile, the Pelicans recently opened their sparkling, 50,000-square-foot practice facility in Metairie.
In 2012, Tom Benson and his family ensured that the nagging, non-stop questions about the franchise’s future in New Orleans would finally come to a much-welcomed, merciful end. For all of those reasons and more, regardless of how the upcoming basketball season plays out on the court – and there is plenty of excitement there as well – supporters of New Orleans basketball may have already registered their biggest win.