Health hasn't been easy to find for the New Orleans Pelicans over the last season and a half. Recently, things have started to look up for New Orleans as the team finally has its fully healthy starting five back. However, this health has come a little late as the Pelicans are in a position where the Play-In Tournament and playoffs are way out of reach.
On the bright side, the Pelicans have found two young studs who are already doing their best to flip the narrative that no one in this organization can stay healthy. Both of New Orleans’ 2025 lottery picks, Derik Queen and Jeremiah Fears, are in the top five in games played this season. Fears is actually in great company, being tied with the "Iron Man" Mikal Bridges for the most games played this season.
The Pelicans appear to be slowly moving out of the Zion Williamson era. It's a time in franchise history that will likely be remembered for coming up short because of health. The emergence of two young, healthy pillars should make fans even more excited about the future in New Orleans.
Seven years of injuries defined the Zion Williamson era
For such a long time, it felt like the Pelicans would put together these playoff-caliber rosters, only for the same question to always linger: Can they stay healthy?
In 2019, Zion Williamson missed the first 44 games of the season. In 2020–21, Brandon Ingram and Lonzo Ball both dealt with injuries. In 2021–22, Zion missed the entire season with a foot fracture. In 2022–23, after briefly holding the No. 1 seed in December, Zion suffered a hamstring injury and the Pelicans fell in the Play-In Tournament.
In 2023–24, that same hamstring injury flared up again in the Play-In game, and the Pelicans were swept by Oklahoma City in the first round. Then last season, Herb Jones, Dejounte Murray, and Trey Murphy III all suffered season-ending injuries, Brandon Ingram played just 18 games, and Z battled his fair share of stuff, too.
For a franchise that has been through seven years of injuries, including this season, which has thrown a wrench into the team's ability to reach its highest peak, the new future around Fears and Queen is very encouraging. It's also a sign that it's time to shift focus and build something new. For years, it has felt like the Pelicans have been searching for an exit ramp from this injury-riddled core, and now they have it.
Having young players with All-Star potential is nothing new to the Pelicans—they had Brandon Ingram and Zion Williamson, now they have DQ and Fears. The difference is that this new tandem has already shown the ability to stay healthy, giving the Pelicans a legitimate reason to wipe the slate clean and start fresh.