The New Orleans Pelicans are Brandon Ingram’s team

After Brandon Ingram hit the game winner for the New Orleans Pelicans last night against Minnesota, it appeared he turned around and said “It’s my city!”

Ok, so maybe he didn’t but that’s what it looked like to me and it’s true either way:

Ingram hit a trio of clutch 3-pointers down the stretch to help the Pelicans eek out a victory in a game that was back and forth all night.

The Pelicans have been though as much adversity as any team, with Zion Williamson out for the season so far and Ingram also having to miss time with injury.

But they have kept battling, a testament to the culture Willie Green is building, and to Ingram, who has been their rock this season along with Josh Hart, Herb Jones and Jonas Valanciunas.

Brandon Ingram is now the face of the New Orleans Pelicans

With Zion Williamson off in Portland for his rehab and unlikely to play this season, Brandon Ingram has stepped up and put this team on his back.

He’s doing a little bit of everything for this team averaging 22.9 points, 6.1 rebounds and 5.1 assists while playing improved defense and initiating almost everything on offense.

He’s got the Pelicans within 1.5 games of the play-in, even without Zion, and his play of late is making fans forget about what we don’t have, instead focusing on what we do, which is an under-25 All-Star (who should make the team again this season) who is signed for the long term and wants to be in New Orleans.

For a team that has had a hard time holding on to its stars, Ingram’s extension was a breath of fresh air, and he has become a fan favorite who is soft spoken but lets his play do the talking for him.

It’s been fun to watch him evolve this season, and the New Orleans Pelicans are clearly his team now, with or without Zion.

A group of NBA executives recently put Ingram just behind Zion on a list of young guys they’d like to build a team around and it’s possible he should be even higher on the list.