New Orleans Pelicans season preview: Opening schedule, win projection and everything to know for 2026-27

The 2026-27 NBA season is here! Check out our team previews, including power rankings, best- and worst-case scenarios, and fantasy advice.

East:Atlanta Hawks • Boston Celtics • Brooklyn Nets • Charlotte Hornets • Chicago Bulls • Cleveland Cavaliers • Detroit Pistons • Indiana Pacers • Miami Heat • Milwaukee Bucks • New York Knicks • Orlando Magic • Philadelphia 76ers • Toronto Raptors • Washington Wizards

West:Dallas Mavericks • Denver Nuggets • Golden State Warriors • Houston Rockets • LA Clippers • Los Angeles Lakers • Memphis Grizzlies • Minnesota Timberwolves • New Orleans Pelicans • Oklahoma City Thunder • Phoenix Suns • Portland Trail Blazers • Sacramento Kings • San Antonio Spurs • Utah Jazz

Record: 26-56 (11th in the West, did not make the playoffs)

Draft:Jaron Pierre Jr. (No. 58)

Signings:DeAndre Jordan (2 years, $8 million), Bennedict Mathurin (2 years, $16 million with player option), Saddiq Bey (3-year, $55 million extension)

Key departures: Kevon Looney (signed with Lakers), Jordan Hawkins (traded to Grizzlies), Micah Peavy (traded to Grizzlies)

Current roster

What's exciting: Jeremiah Fears is a shifty guard who averaged 30 points on 60% true shooting over his final six games. It's a tiny sample, but it helped him earn a spot on an All-Rookie team. With Trey Murphy stretching defenses, Zion Williamson pulverizing the paint, and Dejounte Murray helping run the offense, Fears has supportive pieces to help him grow. If he can continue any of the success he had to close the year, the Pelicans might translate some fun into actual wins.

What's concerning: Zion played 62 games and the Pelicans still finished 26-56. It's kind of hard to blame health for that. Fears, Zion, and Derik Queen are all at their best in the paint, so spacing could be an issue. And on defense, none is a stopper. Herb Jones and Murphy can help cover some mistakes, but not all of them. So while the individual talent is intriguing, this roster is very much composed of mismatched parts. And the front office led by Joe Dumars still has to prove it knows how to turn this collection of players into winning basketball. — Kevin O'Connor 

Preseason Power Rankings: How all 30 teams stack up ahead of 2026-27

Bennedict Mathurin starting over Herb Jones is somewhat interesting. I don't love either, because they're specialists in different ways. Mathurin is the scorer, and Herb offers the defense. The problem is Herb can't stay healthy. Another thing to monitor is how the team deploys Jeremiah Fears. He started for Dejounte Murray and, over two preseason games, he's averaged 13.5 points in 18.3 minutes while shooting 50% from the field and 50% from 3 on eight attempts per game. — Dan Titus

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Opening week: 10/21 vs. Pacers, 10/23 at Jazz, 10/24 at Nuggets

Complete schedule

27.5 — Win total

+20000 to win division

+75000 to win NBA Finals

Best case: Just outside the play-in, Queen + Fears make notable improvements

There is talent here, though not enough for me to comfortably say "this could be a top-10 team if things break right." There's a potential wave element to the lineups Mosley could put together to ensure they have multiple bucket-getters on the floor at all times. If the defense gets to "serviceable," at minimum they profile as a team that'll be incredibly annoying to deal with.

More importantly, you want to see growth from Queen and Fears. Steps defensively from both; continued nuance in ball screens (especially the pacing) from Fears; maybe some shooting growth from Queen.

Worst case: Bottom of the West, roster crunch affects Queen + Fears development

There are so many things happening on this roster that I am just now getting to mention the fact that Saddiq Bey played so well that he earned a multi-year extension, and that they added Bennedict Mathurin.

In all seriousness, it's not difficult to envision a world where it takes Mosley some time to map out a reasonable rotation pattern and the roles within these lineups. If he leans on playing the vets in an effort to establish whatever he feels his vision is, the downstream effect could be seeing less Fears and Queen than expected — especially when you factor in where they are defensively. — Nekias Duncan

Read the full Southwest Division preview