Pelica Debrief
Fansided

Matching New Orleans Pelicans players with their Saints parallels

By Willie Lutz

METAIRIE, LA - JULY 29: Zion Williamson #1 of the New Orleans Pelicans passes the football with quarterback Drew Brees #9 during the New Orleans Saints Quarterback Competition at the Ochsner Sports Performance Center in Metairie, Louisiana. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2019 NBAE (Photo by Layne Murdoch Jr./NBAE via Getty Images)
METAIRIE, LA - JULY 29: Zion Williamson #1 of the New Orleans Pelicans passes the football with quarterback Drew Brees #9 during the New Orleans Saints Quarterback Competition at the Ochsner Sports Performance Center in Metairie, Louisiana. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2019 NBAE (Photo by Layne Murdoch Jr./NBAE via Getty Images) /
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METAIRIE, LA – JULY 29: Zion Williamson #1 of the New Orleans Pelicans passes the football with quarterback Drew Brees #9 during the New Orleans Saints Quarterback Competition at the Ochsner Sports Performance Center in Metairie, Louisiana. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2019 NBAE (Photo by Layne Murdoch Jr./NBAE via Getty Images)
METAIRIE, LA – JULY 29: Zion Williamson #1 of the New Orleans Pelicans passes the football with quarterback Drew Brees #9 during the New Orleans Saints Quarterback Competition at the Ochsner Sports Performance Center in Metairie, Louisiana. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2019 NBAE (Photo by Layne Murdoch Jr./NBAE via Getty Images) /

Before the New Orleans Pelicans season begins, we’re pairing these players with their matches from the city’s favorite squad, the New Orleans Saints.

Football and basketball season overlap, so we’ll likely never see an athlete play both football and basketball professionally at the same time; conveniently, the same New Orleans ownership group owns the Pelicans and Saints. When he was younger, people brought up on multiple occasions the prospect of LeBron James sneaking into the NFL as a tight end.

The Saints and Pelicans are starting to get friendly. After the New Orleans Pelicans won the draft lottery, Saints’ head coach Sean Payton even joked that he’d like to see Zion Williamson suit up for his squad.


However, I’m sure Pelicans fans would prefer to see Williamson keep his competitive play on the basketball court, avoiding any injuries on the football field. After all, how is he supposed to save New Orleans basketball if he’s busy trying to figure out how to fit in the Saints passing scheme?

The two teams seem to be developing a loving relationship, one that should be able to get the sellout crowds at the Mercedes-Benz Super Dome excited enough to spend some time and money at the Smoothie King Center this season.

At the Saints’ home opener, a Monday Night Football game against the Houston Texans, a handful of Pelicans players cheered the squad as they won a 30-28 nailbiter, complete with a walk-off field goal from Wil Lutz. Hopefully, Zion Williamson, Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Jahlil Okafor, Lonzo Ball, and Jaxson Hayes learned how to be in the moment when they go to hit game winners of their own this season.

Heading into one of the biggest games of the NFL games of the season, when the New Orleans Saints host the Dallas Cowboys at the Super Dome for Sunday Night Football, it seemed like a good time to draw some parallel lines between the Big Easy’s professional football and basketball squads. Who knows, maybe the Saints could use a little of Zion’s magic against Dallas.

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