Looking back: the best of 2016-2017
As the New Orleans Pelicans wrap up Summer League action and look towards September training camp, it’s time to take one last look at the best of the 2016-2017 season.
Using basketball-reference.com, and ESPN’s NBA statistical leaderboards as our guides, here are the best individual games by each member of the team who played at least 17 games a year ago and returns this season.
Anthony Davis
The fifth professional season for Davis was another MVP-caliber campaign (he finished ninth in the balloting) as he averaged 28 points (fourth-best in the NBA), was second in blocks (2.2) and seventh in rebounding (11.8). Needless to say, finding his best game wasn’t an easy task.
Amazingly, Davis’ finest performance may have come on opening night. In the Pelicans’ 107-102 loss to Denver on October 26, Davis scored what turned out to be a season-high 50 points on 17-of-34 shooting, made 16 of his 17 free throw attempts and grabbed 15 rebounds. He also added five assists, five steals and four blocked shots, a sign of things to come in a phenomenal season.
Runner-up: New Orleans went to Minnesota and defeated the Timberwolves 122-106 on February 10 with Davis hitting 16 of his 22 field goal attempts (72%), part of a 42-point, 13-rebound effort.
Jrue Holiday
Holiday, who just recently re-signed with the Pelicans, was the leader in the back court a year ago, averaging 7.3 assists (eighth-best in the league) and 15.4 points.
The guard missed the team’s first 12 games while caring for his wife and former soccer stand out, Lauren Holiday, who was suffering from a brain tumor. With his wife’s blessing, he laced them up for the first time on November 18, and on February 6 put together his best game in a win over Phoenix.
In that 111-106 victory, Holiday was three assists shy of a triple-double, tying a season-high in rebounds with 10 and adding 30 points.
Runner-up: Facing the defending champion Cavaliers on January 23, Holiday scored a season-high 33 points and handed out 10 assists – one of his 16 double-digit assist nights – in a narrow, 124-122 home victory.
DeMarcus Cousins
Cousins was traded from Sacramento in late-February and as expected, the former No. 5 overall pick made a big impact in 17 games with the team.
Cousins had several huge games with his new squad, but it’d be hard to vote against what he did to his former employer on the final day of March.
In the Pelicans’ 117-89 win (the team’s highest margin of victory of the season) over the Kings, Cousins was phenomenal, scoring 37 points on 12-of-21 shooting (and 5-of-8 from three) and chipping in with four assists and three steals.
Runner-up: Cousins’ 41 points and 16 rebounds led the Pelicans to a 95-82 victory over Memphis on March 21, which also allowed New Orleans to finish 2-2 against its division rival after an 0-2 start.
Jordan Crawford
After not playing in the NBA at all during the 2014-15 and 2015-16 seasons, the 2010 first round draft pick signed a 10-day contract with New Orleans in early-March, then stuck around for the remainder of the year.
He averaged 14.1 points, scoring in double figures in 17 of his 19 games with the Pelicans.
In his third game with the team, Crawford dropped 19 points on Charlotte in a 125-122 overtime win at Charlotte. Crawford nailed a season-high five threes.
Runner-up: We can’t leave out Crawford’s first NBA game in nearly three years, so a 19-point effort off the bench in a March 6 loss at Utah is definitely worth a mention.
E’Twaun Moore
In his first season with the Pelicans, Moore was a valuable role player, averaging a career-best 9.6 points and 2.2 assists in 73 games (22 starts).
The Pelicans celebrated Christmas a day late with a win over Southwest Division rival Dallas on December 26. Moore was a big reason why, putting together his best performance in the 111-104 triumph – 16 points on 7-of-10 shooting, including a pair of threes and a pair of assists.
Runner-up: New Orleans fell 114-105 to Oklahoma City on January 25, but Moore had 18 points and a season-high seven rebounds.
Solomon Hill
Hill started 71 games in his first season in New Orleans and tied a career-high averaging 3.8 rebounds while chipping in seven points and nearly a steal per night.
Finding Hill’s best game was a fairly easy task as the fourth-year forward poured in a career-high 30 points to lead New Orleans to a 128-112 victory over an eventual 55-win Houston team on March 17. Hill hit six of his nine three-point attempts and handed out a career-high-tying seven assists.
Runner-up: On February 15, Hill scored 23 points on 8-of-11 shooting (4-of-6 from three) in a 95-91 win at Memphis that helped complete a 3-1 road trip.
Cheick Diallo
New Orleans has high hopes for Diallo, and in his first action at the sport’s highest level, the University of Kansas product averaged 5.1 points and 4.3 rebounds in nearly 12 minutes per contest.
Diallo showed some of that promise with three double-double games and two others that came close in just 17 contests as a rookie. In the penultimate game of the season, a 108-96 loss at the Los Angeles Lakers, Diallo missed just one of his 10 field goal attempts and tied a season-high with 19 points to go along with 11 rebounds.
Runner-up: Which was followed by a 12-point, 16-rebound performance in the final contest of the season, a 103-100 win at Portland.
Dante Cunningham
The 6-8 Cunningham started (35 times) and came off the bench (31), contributing averages of 6.6 points and 4.2 rebounds.
On the same night Cousins made life miserable for his former team, Cunningham also provided a big lift. He scored 12 points (6-of-10 shooting) and grabbed eight rebounds in that March 31 win.
Runner-up: The first day of the month was also kind to the Pelicans as they routed Detroit 109-86 with Cunningham scoring a season-high 16 points, including one of three games in which he knocked down four shots from behind the arc.
Donatas Motiejunas
The 7-0 Lithuanian came off the bench in all 34 games for the 2016-17 Pelicans and chipped in an average of 4.4 points and three rebounds.
New Orleans had no trouble with Denver on March 26, winning 115-90, and Motiejunas filled the stat sheet with 13 points on 6-of-12 shooting and seven rebounds.
Runner-up: In his first game of the year, a 117-108 loss at Boston on January 7, Motiejunas had a nice all-around game with 11 points, five rebounds and four assists.
Alexis Ajinca
The former first-round pick from France played in 39 games in his fourth year with the Pelicans and finished with averages of 5.3 points and 4.5 rebounds.
Though he recorded only one double-double all season, Ajinca came close several other times. That one double-double came in the win over Memphis the day after Valentine’s Day where Ajinca had 12 points and 10 rebounds, while adding three steals and a pair of blocked shots.
Runner-up: The Pelicans weren’t very competitive with eventual champion Golden State on April 28 (lost 123-101), but Ajinca had a nice night, finishing with a season-high 17 points on 8-of-14 shooting.
Omer Asik
The 30-year old Asik, in his third season with the Pelicans, finished fourth on the team averaging 5.3 rebounds in 31 games.
Asik’s only double-double of the season came on November 29 when his 10 points and 11 rebounds helped lead the Pelicans to a 105-88 triumph over the Lakers.
Runner-up: Five of Asik’s nine rebounds came on the offensive end and he added eight points in a 99-88 loss to Philadelphia on December 8.