It took almost a full calendar month, but the New Orleans Pelicans finally made another notch in the win column. The Pelicans were able to get much-needed morale boost in their 132-120 victory over the Washington Wizards. While that dub might end up costing them at the draft lottery, as they're in direct competition with Washington for the worst record in the NBA, this team desperately needed something good to happen.
The last time they won a game was against the Phoenix Suns way back on December 5. Since then, they lost 11 games in a row, had massive trade rumors leak regarding practically the entire roster, celebrated Christmas, and rang in the New Year before they were able to win their sixth game of the 2024-25 NBA season.
The Pelicans are legitimately trying to lose as many games as possible this year, so they'll have to take their moral victories in spurts. This win against the Wizards should give them life for quite awhile, because it wasn't just a plain-old regular season dub; it featured an absolute heater from CJ McCollum that saw him make franchise history.
CJ McCollum etches his name into the Pelicans annals
CJ McCollum has long been one of the most underrated players in the league. He began his career playing in Damian Lillard's shadow, a massive overcast in the shape of a Top 75 superstar in the history of the sport. Then, he was traded to the Pelicans to become their sage leader, veteran presence, and floor general.
Since arriving in New Orleans, CJ has had to drastically change his game for the benefit of the team. He was shoehorned into their starting point guard spot, even though he's always been a score-first off-guard. He'd always thrived as a midrange scorer and slasher, but he had to become an elite outside shooter in order to maximize the Pelicans' roster. He did exactly that, hitting over 40 percent of his triples since coming to New Orleans on nearly eight deep shots per game.
He's had to sacrifice his game to appease Zion Williamson, Brandon Ingram, and others. Because of that, he's become massively underrated over the past few years. For example, The Ringer had him pegged as the 80th-best player in the league earlier in the season.
Every now and then, though, CJ gets the opportunity to remind the NBA world of his greatness. He's been doing so more often this season, with Zion and BI missing extended time. After returning from his own injury, CJ put up 22.1 points and 4.2 assists per game on 44 percent shooting from the field and 33 percent from deep heading into his historic night against the Wizards.
Then, he dropped a bomb on Washington. In the Pelicans' win over the Wiz, McCollum poured in 50 points on 18-27 shooting, including an incredible 10-16 from 3-point land. That performance is tied for the third highest-scoring game in Pelicans' franchise history, behind only Anthony Davis's 53 and 59-point games. CJ also became only the third player to ever hit 50 for New Orleans, along with AD and Jamal Mashburn.
CJ's 50-piece also included the second-most made threes by any Pelican in a single-game, nearly matching his own record 11 triples that he hit against the Philadelphia 76ers back in 2022.
This last era for the Pelicans has featured a lot of disappointment and a lot of it will be washed away in history. CJ McCollum's tenure in New Orleans is worth remembering, though, and he just added another massive footnote in his impressive resume with the team.