New Orleans Pelicans: The Best All-Time Franchise Roster
By Tim Burke
Power Forward
Anthony Davis – Starter
New Orleans stats – 7 seasons (2012-19) 23.7 points, 10.2 rebounds, 2.1 assists, 2.4 blocks, 51.7 FG%, 466 games, 34.6 min per game
A six-time All-Star, three-time All-Defense, three-time All-NBA and All-Star game MVP, doesn’t get much easier to choose a starter than this.
While New Orleans Pelicans’ fans may still be upset with how things ended with Anthony Davis (the “that’s all folks” shirt was a bad idea), there’s no denying that Davis is the best power forward to ever play for New Orleans.
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Davis fits the bill of a modern NBA unicorn, a 6’10” big who can close off the rim to opponents with the ball handling and shooting touch of a guard. While he shot only 31.9% from three for the New Orleans Pelicans, you also have to factor in that a lot of those early years were going to look ugly as Davis changed to fit the game being played around him.
On any given defensive possession Davis could be the best defensive big in the league, his 2.4 blocks and 1.4 steals show he had great hand eye coordination on that end. While he was reluctant to be labeled as a center, I think that was more about not wanting to play solely in the post on offense.
Starting Davis at the power forward gives this team two towers that opposing offenses would have a nightmare thinking about trying to score against and still provide a play making big who can shoot from deep.
David West – 7th Man
New Orleans stats – 8 seasons (2003-11) 16.4 points, 7.3 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 0.8 blocks, 49.0 FG%, 530 games, 32.4 min per game
David West, a two time All-Star, is probably the most overlooked player in New Orleans history.
His stats never flew off the page but West was incredibly consistent during his time in New Orleans. After his first two seasons he averaged between 17-20 points and 7-9 rebounds for the next six seasons. During that stretch he only missed more than a few games in a single season once (2006-07 when he played in 52 games), while playing almost 36 minutes every game.
A smart positional defender who would give a good contest to most shots taken while he was on-ball, West forced teams to take bad shots instead of getting blocks.
West was a perfect pairing for Chris Paul, as West could roll to the rim after setting a screen or knock down a mid range shot if given the chance.
A do-everything player like West coming off the bench means the other players on the floor can focus on their best skills while West holds it all together.
Truck Robinson – Reserve
New Orleans stats – 2 seasons (1977-79) 23.2 points, 14.9 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 1.1 blocks, 45.8 FG%, 125 games, 43.4 min per game.
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When starting this piece I had no idea who Leonard “Truck” Robinson is, I’d never heard of him and he played long before I was born.
Truck Robinson was a 6’7″ forward who dominated the paint and grabbed boards. In 1978 Robinson led the league with 1,288 rebounds. He also led the league in minutes, playing 44.4 minutes a game in all 82 games, eat your heart out load management.
I’d love to see a player like Robinson in today’s game but I can’t see someone who is only 6’7″ leading the league in rebounding ever again.