One of New Orleans’ rookies is already so well-known that in a TV commercial promoting Sunday’s ABC national broadcast of Pelicans-Rockets, Zion Williamson is the only player mentioned for either team, despite the fact that New Orleans and Houston have a combined three All-Stars (Brandon Ingram, James Harden, Russell Westbrook).
While the much-discussed Williamson is off to a stellar start to his NBA career through four games played, the 19-year-old isn’t the only Pelicans rookie making waves in 2019-20. In fact, there are three other first-year pros who’ve helped New Orleans rank sixth in the NBA in total minutes logged by rookies (403), as well as sixth in points (874), third in rebounds (407) and first in blocks (66).