New Orleans Pelicans: Taking a look at the ‘Zion Effect’

So how did the New Orleans Pelicans go from afterthought to the hottest ticket in town? Give the front office credit, but let’s be honest—the ‘Zion Effect’ has taken over.

The NBA universe is always desperately searching for the next big thing. When Michael Jordan retired—even when he was playing—we looked for the next heir to the throne. Then when a certain prospect from Akron, Ohio came onto the scene in 2003, we deemed him the next NBA megastar. And when the time came, we began to debate if his greatness trumped that of Jordan’s. Such conversations have existed since the beginning of time, no matter what generation. Now, New Orleans Pelicans’ hyped prospect, Zion Williamson, enters the fray.

Before we get much too ahead of ourselves, don’t look at that from the realm of “Zion is going to be ‘Like Mike’ or challenge James’ greatness”, he’s yet to lace his sneakers up for an NBA exhibition. Comparing the players from a performance standpoint would be foolish, and unfair to the 18-year-old. But is the hype reaching DEFCON like levels in which we’ve only seen a handful of times? Yes, and for good reason, he’s a 6’7, 285-pound freak athlete with no shortage of skill or talent and serves as potentially not only the face of a franchise—but one of a generation.

In the 2018/19 season, the New Orleans Pelicans finished 25th in the NBA in attendance with an average of 16’004 on board at the Smoothie King Center and filled just 93.1 of their capacity. Not exactly fantastic, but with Zion Williamson on board, those attendance woes will surely disappear. According to Scott Kushner of the Advocate.com, the team has already sold 10’000 season tickets and the hope is that number leaps into the 14’000 neighborhood.

When the team officially won the Draft Lottery back in May, 2’000 orders were placed for season tickets—good for twice as many when they won the lottery back in 2012 (according to Jeff Duncan of NOLA.com)

Anthony Davis entered the 2012 NBA Draft as the consensus number one pick, the hype was definitely there, but it fails in comparison to Williamson. There are other factors, a lot has transpired within the organization in the last five months. When Davis demanded out of town in January, the situation was bleak.

There wasn’t much to cheer for but since then all the right moves have been made. The perception of the team league wide has completely altered, they now possess one of the better front offices’ in the association after years upon years of incompetence. The Pelicans have the correct brass to ensure a proper rebuild around Williamson (something they didn’t have in the Davis era, which is another reason why fans are overjoyed about the future).

The optimism surrounding this team can’t be solely placed on the broad shoulders of one man, from the top-down the correct people are in play. However, they needed a certain individual to push them over the top, an entity with a certain “it factor”—Zion is that guy.

NBA Summer League is just around the corner; festivities start on July 5th. The Zion Williamson led Pelicans are squaring off against the New York Knicks, who happened to select Zion’s teammate in college, RJ Barrett, with the third pick. This isn’t just your average exhibition, this is the Christmas Day game of the Summer League.

The usual ticket sits around the $35 mark, just not for this game in particular. The market has drastically raised with resellers putting tickets out on the open market for upwards of $955—according to a staff report on theadvocate.com. Need I remind you that this is, in the grand scheme of things, a meaningless game that has no bearing towards the upcoming season?

Oh, and then there are his merchandise sales. According to Fanatics, Zion sold more $110 jerseys and $32 shirts following the next five days of the draft than all rookies selected in the first round of the 2018 NBA Draft…COMBINED! That draft class featured names like Luka Doncic, Trae Young, Deandre Ayton, Marvin Bagley, Jaren Jackson, and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, amongst others.

Fans all across the globe wait in anticipation to see if the Duke phenom’s game will translate to the next level. Unfortunately, there are some who want to see him fail, just as there were with previous hyped prospects. It comes with the territory, but Zion has an amazing support system around him, he’ll be ready for the moment.

The New Orleans Pelicans have gone from a complete afterthought, a “poverty” franchise in the minds of many, to possessing the brightest future in the NBA. They have their headliner and they’ve incorporated the right people to ensure this rebuild differs from the previous two, now it’s about putting plan and thought into action. “Let’s dance”.