2020–21 New Orleans Pelicans season

The 2020–21 New Orleans Pelicans season is the 19th season of the New Orleans Pelicans franchise in the National Basketball Association (NBA). On August 15, 2020, the New Orleans Pelicans fired head coach Alvin Gentry after five seasons with the team.[1] On October 22, 2020, the Pelicans hired Stan Van Gundy as their new head coach.[2]

2020–21 New Orleans Pelicans season
Head coach	Stan Van Gundy
General manager	Trajan Langdon
Owners	Gayle Benson
Arena	Smoothie King Center
Results
Record	7–11 (.389)
Place	Division: 5th (Southwest) Conference: 14th (Western)
Stats @ Basketball-Reference.com
Local media
Television	Fox Sports New Orleans
Radio	WWL-FM

Draft

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	College / Club
1	13	Kira Lewis Jr.	PG	United States	Alabama
2	39	Elijah Hughes	SF	United States	Syracuse
2	42	Nick Richards	C	Jamaica	Kentucky
2	60	Sam Merrill	SG	United States	Utah State

After their March 11, 2020 game against the Sacramento Kings was postponed due to COVID-19 concerns with a referee, the Pelicans and Kings were stuck with a tied record for the best odds at the #12 pick of the 2020 NBA draft during the Suspension of the 2019–20 NBA season. However, as one of the teams invited to the 2020 NBA Bubble, it gave them a chance to move their selection up with a potential playoff spot earned there. Due to poor performances in the bubble, the Pelicans failed to gain any ground there. Even worse, despite gaining an extra loss, their first-round pick moved to #13 instead due to the Kings winning their tiebreaker via March 11 records. The Pelicans also held three second-round picks, with two of the three picks acquired via a three-way trade involving the Milwaukee Bucks and Detroit Pistons.[3]

Roster

Roster listing

New Orleans Pelicans roster
Players	Coaches
Pos. No. Name Height Weight DOB (YYYY-MM-DD) From C 12 Adams, Steven 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 265 lb (120 kg) 1993-07-20 Pittsburgh G 6 Alexander-Walker, Nickeil 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 205 lb (93 kg) 1998-09-02 Virginia Tech G 2 Ball, Lonzo 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1997-10-27 UCLA G 5 Bledsoe, Eric 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 214 lb (97 kg) 1989-12-09 Kentucky F 32 Gabriel, Wenyen 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 205 lb (93 kg) 1997-03-26 Kentucky G 3 Hart, Josh 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 1995-03-06 Villanova F/C 10 Hayes, Jaxson 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 2000-05-23 Texas C 9 Hernangómez, Willy 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 250 lb (113 kg) 1994-05-27 Spain F 14 Ingram, Brandon 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1997-09-02 Duke G 13 Lewis, Kira 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 165 lb (75 kg) 2001-04-06 Alabama F/C 25 Magnay, Will (TW) 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 234 lb (106 kg) 1998-06-10 Tulsa F 8 Marshall, Naji (TW) 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1998-01-24 Xavier F 20 Melli, Nicolò 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 236 lb (107 kg) 1991-01-26 Italy G 4 Redick, JJ 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 1984-06-24 Duke G 15 Thornwell, Sindarius 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 1994-11-15 South Carolina F 1 Williamson, Zion 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 284 lb (129 kg) 2000-07-06 Duke	Head coach Stan Van Gundy Assistant coach(es) Bob Beyer Casey Hill Fred Vinson Rex Walters Teresa Weatherspoon Legend (C) Team captain (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended (GL) On assignment to G League (TW) Two-way affiliate player Injured Roster Last transaction: December 19, 2020

Standings

Division

Southwest Division	W	L	PCT	GB	Home	Road	Div	GP
San Antonio Spurs	12	10	.545	0.0	6–7	6–3	2–5	22
Memphis Grizzlies	9	8	.529	0.5	3–6	6–2	2–2	17
Houston Rockets	11	10	.524	0.5	5–4	6–6	4–2	21
New Orleans Pelicans	8	12	.400	3.0	5–5	3–7	1–1	20
Dallas Mavericks	9	14	.391	3.5	2–7	7–7	2–1	23

Conference

Western Conference
#	Team	W	L	PCT	GB	GP
1	Utah Jazz *	17	5	.773	–	22
2	Los Angeles Clippers *	17	6	.739	0.5	23
3	Los Angeles Lakers	17	6	.739	0.5	23
4	Denver Nuggets	12	9	.571	4.5	21
5	Portland Trail Blazers	12	9	.571	4.5	21
6	Phoenix Suns	11	9	.550	5.0	20
7	Golden State Warriors	12	10	.545	5.0	22
8	San Antonio Spurs *	12	10	.545	5.0	22
9	Memphis Grizzlies	9	8	.529	5.5	17
10	Houston Rockets	11	10	.524	5.5	21
11	Sacramento Kings	10	11	.476	6.5	21
12	Oklahoma City Thunder	9	11	.450	7.0	20
13	New Orleans Pelicans	8	12	.400	8.0	20
14	Dallas Mavericks	9	14	.391	8.5	23
15	Minnesota Timberwolves	5	16	.238	11.5	21

Game log

Preseason

2020 preseason game log Total: 2–0 (Home: 1–0; Road: 1–0)
Preseason: 2–0 (Home: 1–0; Road: 1–0) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 1 December 11 @ Miami W 114–92 Zion Williamson (26) Zion Williamson (11) Brandon Ingram (6) AmericanAirlines Arena 0 1–0 2 December 18 vs Milwaukee W 127–113 Zion Williamson (31) Adams, Williamson (9) Lonzo Ball (8) Smoothie King Center 0 2–0
2020–21 season schedule

Regular season

2020–21 game log Total: 7–11 (Home: 4–5; Road: 3–9)
December: 3–2 (Home: 1–0; Road: 2–2) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 1 December 23 @ Toronto W 113–99 Brandon Ingram (24) Zion Williamson (10) Brandon Ingram (11) Amalie Arena[4] 0 1–0 2 December 25 @ Miami L 98–111 Zion Williamson (32) Zion Williamson (14) Ball, Bledsoe (6) American Airlines Arena Limited seating 1–1 3 December 27 San Antonio W 98–95 Brandon Ingram (28) Brandon Ingram (11) Brandon Ingram (6) Smoothie King Center Limited seating 2–1 4 December 29 @ Phoenix L 86–111 Zion Williamson (20) Adams, Melli (8) Brandon Ingram (6) PHX Arena 0 2–2 5 December 31 @ Oklahoma City W 113–80 Brandon Ingram (12) Steven Adams (10) Lonzo Ball (9) Chesapeake Energy Arena 0 3–2
January: 5–10 (Home: 4–3; Road: 1–7) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 6 January 2 Toronto W 120–116 Brandon Ingram (31) Steven Adams (10) Eric Bledsoe (10) Smoothie King Center Limited seating 4–2 7 January 4 Indiana L 116–118 (OT) Brandon Ingram (31) Eric Bledsoe (11) Brandon Ingram (8) Smoothie King Center Limited seating 4–3 8 January 6 Oklahoma City L 110–111 Zion Williamson (29) Adams, Ingram (11) Steven Adams (10) Smoothie King Center Limited seating 4–4 9 January 8 Charlotte L 110–118 Zion Williamson (26) Hart, Ingram, Williamson (8) Brandon Ingram (8) Smoothie King Center Limited seating 4–5 – January 11 @ Dallas Postponed (COVID-19) (Makeup date: TBA)[5] 10 January 13 @ L.A. Clippers L 106–111 Nickeil Alexander-Walker (37) Jaxson Hayes (10) Steven Adams (15) Staples Center 0 4–6 11 January 15 @ L.A. Lakers L 95–112 Zion Williamson (21) Zion Williamson (12) Brandon Ingram (5) Staples Center 0 4–7 12 January 17 @ Sacramento W 128–123 Zion Williamson (31) Steven Adams (15) Alexander-Walker, Lewis Jr. (5) Golden 1 Center 0 5–7 13 January 19 @ Utah L 102–118 Zion Williamson (32) Zion Williamson (9) Ball, Ingram (4) Vivint Smart Home Arena Limited seating 5–8 14 January 21 @ Utah L 118–128 Zion Williamson (27) Steven Adams (16) Lonzo Ball (5) Vivint Smart Home Arena Limited seating 5–9 15 January 23 @ Minnesota L 110–120 Brandon Ingram (30) Zion Williamson (11) Lonzo Ball (7) Target Center 0 5–10 – January 25 San Antonio Postponed (COVID-19) (Makeup date: TBA)[6] 16 January 27 Washington W 124–106 Ingram, Williamson (32) Steven Adams (18) Brandon Ingram (8) Smoothie King Center Limited seating 6–10 18 January 29 Milwaukee W 131–126 Brandon Ingram (28) Steven Adams (20) Lonzo Ball (8) Smoothie King Center Limited seating 7–10 18 January 30 Houston Zion Williamson (26) Lonzo Ball (8) Eric Bledsoe (5) Smoothie King Center Limited seating 7-11
February: 0–0 (Home: 0–0; Road: 0–0) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 19 February 1 Sacramento L 109–118 Brandon Ingram (20) Josh Hart (13) Lonzo Ball (5) Smoothie King Center 1,440 7–12 20 February 3 Phoenix Smoothie King Center 0 21 February 5 @ Indiana Bankers Life Fieldhouse 0 22 February 6 Memphis Smoothie King Center 0 23 February 9 Houston Smoothie King Center 0 24 February 10 @ Chicago United Center 0 25 February 12 @ Dallas American Airlines Center 0 26 February 16 @ Memphis FedEx Forum 0 26 February 17 Portland Smoothie King Center 0 27 February 19 Phoenix Smoothie King Center 0 28 February 21 Boston Smoothie King Center 0 29 February 24 Detroit Smoothie King Center 0 30 February 25 @ Milwaukee Fiserv Forum 0 30 February 25 @ San Antonio AT&T Center 0
March: 0–0 (Home: 0–0; Road: 0–0) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 31 March 1 Utah Smoothie King Center 0 31 March 3 Chicago Smoothie King Center 0 33 March 4 Miami Smoothie King Center 0
2020–21 season schedule

Transactions

Trades

Re-signed

Player	Signed

Additions

Player	Signed	Former team

Subtractions

Player	Reason left	New team

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References

1. "Alvin Gentry relieved of head coaching duties". NBA.com. August 15, 2020. Retrieved August 15, 2020.
2. "Pelicans name Stan Van Gundy head coach". NBA.com. October 22, 2020. Retrieved October 23, 2020.
3. "Pelicans acquire Stanley Johnson, Jason Smith". NBA.com. February 7, 2019. Retrieved October 27, 2020.
4. "Toronto Raptors to Start Season in Tampa". SI.com. November 20, 2020. Retrieved November 20, 2020.
5. "New Orleans vs. Dallas, Boston vs. Chicago games postponed". NBA.com. January 12, 2021. Retrieved January 16, 2021.
6. "San Antonio at New Orleans game postponed". NBA.com. January 25, 2021. Retrieved January 31, 2021.