New Orleans Pelicans Star Predicted To Lead NBA in a Key Defensive Stat

Known for his ability to pick the pocket of opposing offensive players with ease, New Orleans Pelicans off-season acquisition Dejounte Murray is predicted to lead the NBA in steals.

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If there is one thing that the New Orleans Pelicans have been known for over the past few seasons, it's their defensive ability.

With Herbert Jones leading the defensive charge night in and night out, finishing the 2023-24 season as a First-Team All-Defense player and fifth in Defensive Player of the Year Award voting, the defensive end of the court has been a strength for the team.

After acquiring Dejounte Murray from the Atlanta Hawks in the off-season, the Pelicans' already strong defense has gotten even better.

Murray enters the 2024-25 season with a career 4.8 defensive rebounds per game as a guard and 1.4 steals per game.

Mo Dakhil of Bleacher Report penned an article projecting the coming season's stat leaders and had Murray leading the NBA in steals, something that he would be accomplishing for the second time in his career.

"He will be in a similar situation where he can work on the weak side defensively," writes Dakhil, "that should open opportunities for Murray to scoop steals."

Steals can be an overrated defensive stat for that reason, but they are still helpful to a team's success on the court.

Every steal a player gets is taking a possession away from the opponent and giving their team an extra possession.

More often than not, the team that has more possessions is the team that comes out on top in the end.

With Jones on one end of the court, locking down the best of the best with ease, and Murray on the other end guarding the not-so-best of the best, New Orleans' backcourt defense could be considered one of the better units in the NBA.

Murray led the NBA in steals in the 2021-22 season, his lone All-Star season, with 2.0 per game, and finished that campaign in second for Most Improved Player Award voting.

The Hawks are an offense-first team with Trae Young leading the charge.

This was detrimental to Murray last season, as while he is a good defensive player, he is not quite at the level to be the number one defensive guard option for a team, which is what was expected of him in Atlanta.

While the Pelicans are no slouch on offense, it is their defense that is their calling card, and having Jones as the key defensive option at guard will be a huge boon to Murray's defensive season to come.

Be ready to see New Orleans on many a fast break in the coming campaign, it is sure to be an exciting year.