Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram: Ranking the top-16 duos in NBA
The New Orleans Pelicans have one of the top duos in the NBA in Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram.
Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram have only played 25 games together as New Orleans Pelicans, but they are already the franchise cornerstones.
On paper, they are the perfect pairing. One is a bruiser who dominates the interior, while the other is a versatile scoring machine who can get buckets from anywhere on the floor.
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If both can stay healthy, they have a chance to be the top scoring duo in the NBA in just their second season together, which would be quite an accomplishment.
Of course, Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram have plenty of competition for the league’s best duo.
We took a look at the top-16 pairs in the league to see where the New Orleans Pelicans’ stars rank.
DISCLAIMER: This list is complete opinion, so feel free to argue. I am sure there are ways to quantify this but I’m mostly looking at talent, potential and fit.
There were several I left off, including Bradley Beal/Russell Westbrook in Washington and James Harden/John Wall in Houston. It’s too messy and too early to know how those are going to work.
Shoutouts to Karl-Anthony Towns and D’Angelo Russell in Minnesota, LaMarcus Aldridge and DeMar DeRozan in San Antonio and Victor Oladipo and Domantas Sabonis in Indiana, who are all on the fringe.
New Orleans Pelicans: Ranking Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram vs. NBA duos
#16: Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert
Mitchell and Gobert form one of the best “offense/defense” combos in the NBA, with Mitchell as the primary scorer and Gobert there to block every shot in the lane.
Gobert recently turned down a max contract extension, which is nuts considering there is no one out there who will offer more, so this duo may not be long for Utah.
It’s possible that Gobert will be traded at some point this season, so we may see Mitchell get another partner.
#15: Ja Morant and Jaren Jackson Jr.
The Grizzlies have to be excited about their duo, which is one of the youngest on the list. Ja Morant was last year’s Rookie of the Year and Jackson has already evolved into one of the best stretch-fours in basketball and they are in their second and third season respectively.
Jackson Jr. has already had some injury problems, but if he can stay healthy, these two will rocket up this list in the next few seasons.