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The New Orleans Pelicans have not come close to winning an NBA championship since their inception in 2002 as the New Orleans Hornets. The Pelicans have made the playoffs an underwhelming seven times in their 18 seasons of existence in the league despite drafting or acquiring high-quality players and legends such as Anthony Davis and Chris Paul.
However, there are players who have bucked the trend and have gone on to enjoy post-season success after their time in New Orleans and win championship rings with recent examples being Jrue Holiday and AD.
There is a flipside to it as great players who were key pieces for the Pelicans and other teams alike, were unable to win an NBA championship ring due to a multitude of reasons such as poor fit with the team and bad luck with officiating and injuries.
Having said that, here are the top three players who played for the Pelicans and were unfortunate not to win a title.
Top three players from the Pelicans to not win an NBA championship
#3 Baron Davis
Baron Davis came into the league in 1999 after being drafted by the Charolette Hornets and proved to be an explosive scorer who could shift gears at a moment's notice. His first two years marked a slow improvement for the guard before he took a giant leap in his third year as he averaged 18 points and 8.5 assists per game, while also being named to the 2002 All-Star team.
After the franchise relocated to New Orleans and changed its name to the New Orleans Hornets, Davis had a massive uptick in form as he averaged 22.9 points and 7.5 assists per game, while also leading the league in steals.
He led the Hornets into the post-season in all five of the seasons he played with them despite not being able to make it to the Conference Finals, missing out on an opportunity to win an NBA championship, after losing to teams such as the Allen Iverson-led Philadelphia 76ers or Dwyane Wade-led Miami Heat.
Davis' best chance of success came during his stint with the Golden State Warriors under the tutelage of the legendary Don Nelson. Nellie's high-scoring offensive system was designed to suit Davis' up-tempo style as he drastically increased his scoring averages.
His performance in the 2007 playoffs was nothing short of remarkable as he averaged 25.3 points, 6.5 assists, 2.9 steals, and 4.5 rebounds per game.
He played a crucial role in one of the biggest upsets in history as the eighth-seeded Warriors beat top seed Dallas Mavericks in a shocker before being eliminated by the Utah Jazz in the next round.
Davis' career could never replicate those same highs due to multiple injuries, leaving us with the question of his ceiling if he managed to win a championship.
#2 JJ Reddick
JJ Reddick came into the league in 2006 after a storied college career that ranks with the very best in the game. He was known for his deadly perimeter shooting and brilliant basketball IQ despite having concerns about his defensive abilities.
Reddick turned out to be a star role player who excelled in his role of providing his teams with an option to bail them out, hitting clutch shots under duress more often than not. His offensive versitality played a key role in allowing star guards such as Chris Paul to play with more freedom knowing that they had an outlet incase they were in trouble.
Reddick has never shot lesser than 38% from the perimeter even in his worst seasons. He enjoyed more post-season success than most despite not winning the ultimate prize, as he held a streak of not missing the playoffs in a single season since his debut before seeing it end in a pandemic riddled season with the New Orleans Pelicans.
He has been close to winning an NBA championship and went to the Finals with the Orlanda Magic in 2009, losing to a Kobe Bryant-led Los Angeles Lakers.
His best chance came with the 76ers superteam with Jimmy Butler, Joel Embiid, Ben Simmons and Tobias Harris as they lost to the Toronto Raptors after a last-moment buzzer beater from Kawhi Leonard. Reddick averaged 18.2 points during the 2018 playoffs, a new career high for him.
Unfortunately, Reddick retired in 2021 due to personal reasons. He would go down in history as one of the league's greatest shooters, a Magic and Clippers favorite despite not winning an NBA championship.
#1 Chris Paul
Chris Paul is a bonafied first-ballot Hall-of-Famer with a storied resume that includes 11 All-Star appearances, a nine-time All-Defensive team honoree and a nine-time All-NBA team honoree, along with being a four-time NBA assists leader and a six-time steals leader.
Looking at his career in hindsight, the only thing that seems to be missing is an NBA Championship. The hole left by not being able to win the ultimate prize has long affected CP3 as his playoff streak is yet another case of so close yet so far!
The legendary point-god is a leader par excellence, leading the NBA Players Association as its president before CJ McCollum took over in 2021. CP3 has also played a huge role in reserrecting multiple franchises and shaping them into contenders.
Despite his achievements and personal accolades, CP3 has yet to win a ring despite going really close twice with the Houston Rockets and the Phoenix Suns. If not for a devastating injury prior to game 7, Chris Paul would have had a hand in ending the Golden State Warriors dynasty as Houston had the upper hand.
Unfortunately, James Harden and the Rockets were not able to see the task through without having their PG on the court as the Warriors' firepower seemed too much to handle.
Chris Paul had his chance at redemption as he led the relatively inexperienced Phoenix Suns to the NBA Finals in 2021. The Suns, led by massive performances from star guard Devin Booker, put up a fight but seemed outmatched against Giannis and the Bucks.
CP3 will be raring to go and have yet another chance as the Suns look to run it back and prove to themselves and the league that their Finals appearance was not a one-time thing.
Chris Paul will be remembered for multiple reasons, but the biggest reason would be his ability to develop big men into deadly lob-catching pick-and-roll threats like he did with Deandre Ayton during his tenure with Phoenix and DeAndre Jordan in his six years with the "Lob City" Clippers.
