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New Orleans Pelicans Franchise All-Time Team: Starting Shooting Guard

By Matt Cianfrone

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Sep 30, 2013; Metairie, LA, USA; A detail of a New Orleans Pelicans logo poses for a portrait at Pelicans Practice Facility. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports

Brendon (@zimmerguy4): Jamal Mashburn

I may be overvaluing the importance of the transition from Charlotte to New Orleans and the players who fostered that expansion, but Mashburn was indispensable for the franchise during its infancy. He was the quintessential early-2000s guard, and wrought hell on the league in his two years in New Orleans– enough to still be atop the all-time franchise per game leaderboards in points and minutes. He shouldered a huge load on offense, giving the Hornets a reliable 20+ points a game on a fairly efficient 45% effective field goal percentage.

The man played 41 minutes a game in his All-Star 2002-03 campaign. The league has largely forgotten Mr. Mashburn, and this is unfair. The dude could flat-out play. And since I’m a sucker for highlights mixes, here’s this from February of 2003:

Shout out to early-2000s nicknames as well! Before the days of “Initial-Initial-Number” or even better, the classic “Just Initials” nicknames (see Davis, Anthony), we had some killer names. Monster Mash? Are you kidding me!? And the best we can do now is King James. Despicable. This earns him an extra hundred points on whatever scale it is we’re using.

In truth, though, this guy really was one of the most important players in the franchise’s history, and with the dearth of talent at the two-guard spot in New Orleans, he was an easy choice. Show me a Hornet/Pelicans wing player who meant more to his respective group at a time more important to the franchise than Jamal Mashburn.

Next: The Backup Shooting Guards were Selected This Morning

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