Earlier this week, David Griffin had been hinting at the slogan on his social media account, but today he let New Orleans Pelicans fans know the meaning behind the message.
Heading into the season, the New Orleans Pelicans are following the code behind three letters; WBD. President of Basketball Operations David Griffin announced today on his Twitter account the message behind those letters, which we now know stand for “won’t bow down,” and will be the slogan the team follows as they build for this season.
Continuing on the through line that this team isn’t going to simply roll over this season after trading away Anthony Davis, the team is pushing a slogan emphasizing their interest in being competitive with this bunch.
@Jrue_Holiday11 @PelicansNBA I'm just gonna leave this right here... #WontBowDown pic.twitter.com/wPa6kyEkgL
— David Griffin (@dg_riff) September 24, 2019
“Welcome to New Orleans. It’s not going to be easy for you.” Now that’s some messaging.
Griffin and the Pelicans’ marketing department might be on to something with this concept. The team is only a season removed from the playoffs and has done a really good job building a competitive roster, at least on paper.
Interestingly, Jrue Holiday was the lone Pelicans player tagged in Griffin’s tweet, which goes in line with previous sentiments from the organization about the priority the team is putting a high value on the tenth-year man’s standing with the team. He’s gone as far as to call them, “Jrue Holiday’s team.”
Adding Zion Williamson, Derrick Favors, Brandon Ingram, Lonzo Ball, and Josh Hart is certainly a way to reload your rotation with a lot of talented pieces; there’s no reason adding that group to a rotation centered around Holiday and you’ve got yourself quite the competitive bunch.
Hopefully, it’s also a message that can get fans excited about New Orleans Pelicans basketball. They’re not backing down this year and fans won’t have to come to the Smoothie King Center just to watch their team rollover.
It is interesting to wonder if the slogan is meant to be a poke at the Los Angeles Lakers. The anointed ‘king’ Lebron James and his cohorts spent last season on pining to get then-Pelicans star Davis traded to La La Land. The Pelicans wouldn’t just bow down for the Davis trade, they have no reason to bow down to Los Angeles now.
While the slogan is certainly exciting, it’ll be up to the team to deliver the message on the court. Even if they don’t bow down, marketing messages aren’t going to be the reason this team makes the leap into the playoffs.