New Orleans Pelicans Increasing National Television Exposure This Season

The Pelicans will get more opportunities to showcase their skills on National TV.

Apr 16, 2024; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; New Orleans Pelicans forward Zion Williamson (1) dribbles against Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (23) during the first half of a play-in game of the 2024 NBA playoffs against the New Orleans Pelicans at Smoothie King Center. / Stephen Lew-USA TODAY Sports

The New Orleans Pelicans released their schedule for the upcoming season, and one noteworthy piece is their National TV coverage. New Orleans will play 13 games on National TV across ESPN, TNT, and NBATV networks. That is up from 12 games shown nationwide last season.

Your 2024-25 Pelicans schedule 👀#Pelicans | @SeatGeek pic.twitter.com/IxvWEmWTUe

— New Orleans Pelicans (@PelicansNBA) August 15, 2024

A road trip against the Golden State Warriors marks their first appearance on National TV, a game that will be carried by TNT. This is Turner Sports' last season with rights to NBA games after losing a bid to Amazon as part of the league's 11-year, $76 billion media rights deal. The Pelicans will appear on TNT three times during the regular season.

Ten of the Pelicans' 12 National TV games are on the road. The only home games for New Orleans outside local markets are 12/21 against the New York Knicks and 3/9 versus the Memphis Grizzlies. That may not be a bad thing since the Pelicans had the best road record in the league last season, going 28-14 away from the Smoothie King Center.

New Orleans opens its season at home against the Chicago Bulls on October 23rd before heading out West for four straight road games. Their In-Season Tournament play begins on November 15th at home versus the Denver Nuggets. Last season, the Pelicans made the In-Season Tournament semifinals before losing to the Los Angeles Lakers.

The home slate will again weigh heavy on the weekends with 19 of the team's 41 home games being played on Friday, Saturday, or Sunday. That was the same amount as last season. New Orleans will play in 16 back-to-back games this year.

Getting off to a good start will be important for the Pelicans. New Orleans plays the Portland Trail Blazers three times in their first eight games. The Blazers had the third-worst record in the Western Conference last year and figures not to make a drastic improvement this season. The Pelicans must capitalize on winning early in the year to avoid scrambling at the end for playoff positioning.

The team has been in the Play-In Tournament the last three seasons, winning twice to make the postseason, but ultimately losing in the first round. Their division is vastly improved with the Western Conference Champion Dallas Mavericks looking to return to the NBA Finals again. The Grizzlies will be exponentially better with a healthy Ja Morant and the core of Desmond Bane, Jaren Jackson, Jr., and Marcus Smart surrounding him.

San Antonio should naturally improve with the ascension of young star Victor Wembanyama and the acquisition of future Hall-of-Fame point guard Chris Paul to teach the phenom the finer points of the game. New Orleans will have its hands full navigating its way toward the top of the stacked Western Conference.