Team Spotlight: New Orleans Pelicans

Playing in the Western Conference Southwest Division of the NBA (National Basketball Association), the professional American basketball team, the New Orleans Pelicans, are based (not surprisingly) in New Orleans, Louisiana.

The story surrounding the New Orleans Pelicans is confusing and hard to follow at best. In the interest of brevity, we are going to simplify the story behind the name of the team as much as possible by simply stating the names by which the team went and the years each official name entailed. Here goes:

• From 2013 to present – New Orleans Pelicans
• From 2005 to 2007 New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets
• From 2002 to 2005, and then again from 2007 to 2013, New Orleans Hornets

What, you may be wondering, went on between 2005 and 2007 that caused the team to change their name temporarily? Simply put – Hurricane Katrina. It's common knowledge by now that she wiped out much of New Orleans, so the team was forced to temporarily move, making Oklahoma City not only their temporary location but slightly altering their name to signify such.

General Information Regarding the Pelicans

Including their home arena, key personnel, and more, here's a little bit about the New Orleans Pelicans:

• Numbers retired by the Pelicans total an astounding one. That is number 7 and belonged to guard Pete Maravich. The number was retired in 2002 in October. Maravich played for the Boston Celtics (1980), the Utah Jazz/New Orleans Jazz (1974 to 1980), and the Atlanta Hawks (1970 to 1974). To honor his contributions to basketball in the state of Louisiana, his number was retired by the Pelicans. Coincidentally, his number (7) was also retired by the Utah Jazz. The Atlanta Hawks retired his number, 44, as well.
• In 2008 they won their only division title thus far.
• Red, gold, and navy blue are the team colors.
• Home arena – Smoothie King Center
• Playoff qualifications – 7

Key personnel –

• Gayle Benson – owner
• Alvin Gentry – head coach
• Trajan Langdon – general manager
• Dennis Lauscha – president
• Zatarain’s – main sponsor

Greatest New Orleans Pelicans Of All Time

Though some of the following players did not stay with the Pelicans for an extended period of time, they were, nonetheless, considered the best while they were with the team:

• Dell Curry – small forward and shooting guard
• Muggsy Bogues – point guard
• Glen Rice – small forward and shooting guard
• Jrue Holiday – shooting guard and point guard
• Larry Johnson – power forward
• David West – power forward
• Baron Davis – point guard
• Alonzo Mourning – center
• Anthony Davis – center and power forward
• Chris Paul – guard

There are, of course, many other greats that played for the Pelicans. This is just a sampling.

At Hat Heaven, We've Got Your Pelicans Cap!

If you're looking for a New Orleans Pelicans cap, we've got you covered. If you prefer the Hornets, we carry snapback Charlotte Hornets caps in a couple of colors. Either way, or if you prefer some other team in the NBA, we've got the hat you're looking for. We also cover other sports like NFL, MLB, hockey, and more. Don't want a logo on your hat because you're just not that into sports? No problem. We have catchy sayings, cartoon characters, personal insignias, and just plain hats with no patch or picture whatsoever.

At Hat Heaven, thanks to our website, we are able to offer the entire world our wide selection of baseball caps. Shop today to find your absolutely favorite new hat.