The New Orleans Pelicans have been at the center of a lot of narratives this season but none of them involved Brandon Ingram.
Ingram has quietly been taking care of business, but this has been lost among Zion Williamson‘s MVP-caliber play, Lonzo Ball’s contract situation and the Pelicans’ failure to make the leap into the elite of the Western Conference.
Ingram is not big talker or a guy who is going to drop quotes in the media, so it makes sense that he’s been drown in all the Zion hype.
If fans have talked about him at all, it is to proffer the misguided “theory” that he and Zion Williamson are not a good pairing, which seems ridiculous when you consider they are probably the best under-25 duo in the NBA.
Pelicans’ fans are starting to take Brandon Ingram for granted, which is a shame, as he is quietly having a fantastic season.
New Orleans Pelicans: Brandon Ingram’s quiet dominance
If you looked at Brandon Ingram’ statistics in a vacuum, you’d say he was an MVP candidate, as there are few wings in the league who average 24 points per game while adding nearly five assists and five rebounds.
In fact, Ingram’s stats have gone up in just about every category, including scoring, assists, steals and free-throw percentage.
Ingram continues to be an accurate volume 3-point shooter, is lights out from the mid-range and has managed to improve just about all of his numbers even though Zion Williamson is now more of the focus on offense.
The only number that really went down is rebounds, which is understandable considering the Pelicans added Steven Adams in the offseason.
Ingram can certainly improve and has to show he can do more than score, but I feel like fans are sleeping on what has been another great season for B.I.
Last year he won the Most Improved Player award and was named an All-Star, an honor he didn’t get this season even though his numbers are better.
Brandon Ingram will never get as much attention as Zion Williamson or Lonzo Ball, but it is time that we start recognizing that this guy is very good an not take his dominance for granted.