Who is the New Orleans Pelicans’ all-time leader in steals in a single game?

Steals – one of the five major statistics that is tracked by traditional box scores (along with points, rebounds, assists, and blocks).

Some people think steals are a misleading indicator of defensive impact and that the players who rack up a ton of those are usually doing so by gambling or being out of position.

However, that’s not actually the case. Steals are incredibly valuable because they effectively end the other team’s chances of scoring on that given possession.

Even the best lockdown on-ball defenders aren’t guaranteed to stop the other team from scoring. There will always be times when great man defense is trounced by better tough shot-making. But with steals, you remove all doubt. Once you secure a steal, the threat is neutralized.

So, who is the all-time leader in steals in a single game? According to Stat Muse, the most steals in a single game is eleven, and this feat was accomplished by both Kendall Gill (April 3, 1999) and Larry Kenon (December 26, 1976).

What about our New Orleans Pelicans? Who is their all-time leader in steals in a single game?

That would be none other than franchise legend Chris Paul, who, on February 20, 2008, nabbed nine steals for the then-Hornets in a win over the Dallas Mavericks. In fact, Paul owns eight of the ten highest pilfer performances in franchise history.

For those wondering, here is the top-10 list for most steals in a single game in franchise history  (the date on which each of these performances took place is listed in the parenthesis):

1. Chris Paul – 9 (February 20, 2008)

2. Chris Paul – 8 (December 4, 2009)

3. Chris Paul – 8 (December 20, 2008)

4. Bonzi Wells – 8 (March 22, 2008)

5. Chris Paul – 8 (February 6, 2008)

6. DeMarcus Cousins – 8 (January 14, 2008)

7. Chris Paul – 7 (March 14, 2011)

8. Chris Paul – 7 (January 1, 2011)

9. Chris Paul – 7 (January 26, 2009)

10. Chris Paul – 7 (January 14, 2009)

The only other names in the top-10 that are not Chris Paul are Bonzi Wells and DeMarcus Cousins. The latter player being on this list is especially impressive because bigs typically don’t get as many steals as guards, wings, and forwards.

It is also notable that eight of these ten performances took place in the years 2008 and 2009. Those are probably Paul’s peak defensive seasons. During those years, Paul lead the entire league in steals per game.