With parity rising to a virtually unprecedented level in the NBA – five franchises have won a championship over the past five seasons – it’s more difficult than ever to narrow down a team’s marquee home games to a handful of selections. That’s certainly the case for the New Orleans Pelicans’ slate in the Smoothie King Center during the upcoming 2023-24 campaign. In Pelicans.com’s attempt to pick eight tilts, necessary omissions included early-season visits by the league’s reigning MVP (Joel Embiid), as well as one of the NBA’s most hyped No. 1 overall draft picks in recent memory (Victor Wembanyama). Also just missing the cut: games against the squad that posted the league’s best regular season record (Milwaukee) in ’22-23, as well as the West’s No. 3 (Sacramento) and 5 seeds (LA Clippers). Here are the eight New Orleans home games that beat out a formidable field to earn a spot on our list:
Pelicans vs. New York Knicks | Saturday, Oct. 28, 2023
Expect a festive atmosphere for the 22nd home opener in New Orleans franchise history, as the Pelicans try to prevail in their Smoothie King Center lid-lifter for the first time since 2020. Coincidentally, the last team to visit during the 2022-23 regular season will be the first to arrive in 2023-24. Led partly by USA Basketball point guard Jalen Brunson and former Pelicans players Julius Randle and Josh Hart, New York won a playoff series last spring for the first time in a decade.
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Pelicans vs. Golden State Warriors | Monday, Oct. 30, 2023
Gulf South hoops aficionados who enjoy watching Steph Curry play in person have experienced quite an extended drought: The greatest perimeter shooter in NBA history has not performed in the Smoothie King Center in front of a full-capacity audience since Oct. 28, 2019. Nearly four years to the day, the Warriors will make their lone visit to the Crescent City this season. Curry has been a DNP in each of Golden State’s last four trips to Louisiana, playing twice during the 2020-21 campaign, which featured crowd restrictions due to Covid.
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Pelicans vs. Dallas Mavericks | Tuesday, Nov. 14, 2023 (In-Season Tournament)
The Mavericks’ high-scoring backcourt duo of Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving will play consecutive games in the Smoothie King Center in mid-November, with the latter matchup being part of the league’s inaugural In-Season Tournament. Doncic has generated some of the most prolific games of his decorated career vs. the Pelicans. New Orleans (42-40) and Dallas (38-44) finished in second and third place in the Southwest Division last season, respectively.
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Pelicans vs. Denver Nuggets | Friday, Nov. 17, 2023 (In-Season Tournament)
The defending NBA champions and 2023 Finals MVP Nikola Jokic make their only stop of the regular season in the Crescent City. Pelicans-Nuggets has often been a highly entertaining matchup in recent years, including a pair of overtime games in ’21-22, as well as a one-point Denver victory this January on the Pelicans’ home floor. Jokic is flanked by talented Nuggets contributors such as Jamal Murray, Aaron Gordon and Michael Porter Jr.
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New Orleans Pelicans 2023-24 NBA Schedule Release Video
Pelicans vs. Memphis Grizzlies | Tuesday, Dec. 19, 2023
Dynamic, lightning-quick point guard Ja Morant should be back in action by the time the Grizzlies come to New Orleans on consecutive Tuesdays in late December. USA Basketball forward Jaren Jackson Jr. is part of a deep supporting cast that’s helped make Memphis one of the league’s most consistent teams on an annual basis. The Grizzlies have developed into a regional rival of the Pelicans, with local fans always circling the Southwest Division counterparts’ trips to Louisiana on their calendars.
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Pelicans vs. Los Angeles Lakers | Sunday, Dec. 31, 2023
The atmosphere should be raucous and electric in the Smoothie King Center for this New Year’s Eve matchup, as fans get an early start to celebrating the dawn of 2024. There is no love lost between New Orleans basketball supporters and the purple and gold, who feature LeBron James and former Pelicans franchise player Anthony Davis. As a No. 7 seed, the Lakers reached the West finals last season after making a series of effective trades, before being swept by eventual NBA champion Denver 4-0.
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Pelicans vs. Phoenix Suns | Friday, Jan. 19, 2024
The trend of franchises putting together star-studded trios seems to have slowed recently, with a two-star model becoming more commonplace. But Phoenix went back to a “Big Three” this summer, trading for Bradley Beal, who will supplement Suns standout scorers Kevin Durant and Devin Booker. The Pelicans and Suns have developed a bit of a rivalry after their heated 2022 first-round playoff series, as well as a pair of intense matchups last December, when both squads were perched near the top of the Western Conference standings.
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Pelicans vs. Miami Heat | Friday, Feb. 23, 2024
There are still frequently-discussed questions remaining about the composition of the Heat’s roster for next season, but Miami stalwarts Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo led the way to a second trip to the NBA Finals over the past four seasons in June. The Erik Spoelstra-coached Heat upset league-best Milwaukee and two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo in Round 1, then eventually became just the second No. 8 seed to reach the championship series – the first to do so in a conventional 82-game season.
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