Brandon Ingram throws shade at the Pelicans with latest low blow

Heading into the 2025-26 season, one of the biggest changes with the New Orleans Pelicans roster is that, for the first time since 2018, the Pelicans will be without Brandon Ingram.

During his first season in New Orleans, BI made an All-Star appearance and also won the league's Most Improved Player award. However, the years that followed were marked by disappointment, and Ingram was plagued by a multitude of injuries.

Throughout the 2024-25 season, the writing was on the wall that Ingram was on his way out the door. With the emergence of Trey Murphy III and the fact that BI was injured and on the last year of his deal, it was apparent the Pelicans were going to move on from the now 28-year-old.

Although Ingram's departure was disappointing, as he was never able to help lead the organization to the promised land, it felt like he left on good terms. That being said, the comments Ingram made during the Toronto Raptors Media Day suggest otherwise.

“The most impressive thing for me is seeing every seat in the arena filled up every single game, no matter winning or losing. That definitely wasn't there in New Orleans."

For Ingram to take shots at the Pelicans organization and their fans was just uncalled for.

While they did rank in the bottom five in attendance per game last season, the Pelicans also dealt with every injury imaginable and were often rolling out starting lineups filled with G League players most nights. Not to mention that Ingram, who was the team's biggest name behind Zion Williamson, also only appeared in 17 games last season, giving fans almost no reason to buy tickets by the time midseason rolled around.

Pelicans fans need to circle March 11th on their calendar

While fans will have to wait till March 11th for the 67th game of the season to see Ingram return, these comments from him only add to the anticipation for this matchup. Fans should be looking to sell out the Smoothie King Center for this matchup just to prove the former Pelican wrong.

Ingram spent 6 years in New Orleans and was part of ushering in the post-Anthony Davis era, so many of us expected him to receive a tribute video when he made his return 140 days after opening night. Yet now, with him taking shots at Pelicans fans, I doubt the organization sees any value in paying tribute to his time in New Orleans.

This is truly a disappointing turn of events, as many Pelicans supporters, including myself, were excited to see Brandon Ingram get a fresh start and were ready to root for him. These comments have rubbed a ton of fans the wrong way and may have even turned some of his supporters into haters. It will be interesting to see how Ingram is received by the Pelicans' faithful when he returns in March of this season.