Predicting Who Will be the New Orleans Pelicans Leading Scorer Next Season

Heading into the 2024-25 season, who will be the leading scorer for the New Orleans Pelicans?

Apr 16, 2024; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; New Orleans Pelicans forward Zion Williamson (1) reacts to making a basket against Los Angeles Lakers forward Anthony Davis (3) during the second half of a play-in game of the 2024 NBA playoffs at Smoothie King Center. / Stephen Lew-USA TODAY Sports

As we head into the new season for the New Orleans Pelicans, there is no shortage of talent on the team this season. 

This offseason, the Pelicans were able to acquire who they hope is one of the final pieces of the puzzle to get them to become a true contender in the Western Conference in Dejounte Murray. 

Murray is going help the Pelicans on both ends of the court, as he is not only a good player on offensive, but he is capable of being a lockdown defender. Those types of two-way players are the ones who help you win championships, but the franchise will also have to figure out how to optimize their offense.

Floor spacing and who will have the ball in their hand is going to be a big conversation all season for the Pelicans. When New Orleans is at their best, Zion Williamson has the ball in his hands and is making decisions. 

Recently, Grant Hughes of Bleacher Report predicted who would be the top scorer for every team. For New Orleans, he predicted Williamson would lead the way in the scoring department. 

“The two-time All-Star's commitment to conditioning, which may have started after an embarrassing and much-criticized In-Season Tournament performance last year, is yielding encouraging results.”

“New Orleans knows beyond any doubt that its attack works best when Williamson is on the ball and powering downhill. Murray will get his touches, as will McCollum and Ingram. But many of them will come after Williamson barrels into the lane off the dribble. Even with more talent around him, Williamson is going to come much closer to reaching the 27.0 points per game he averaged in 2020-21 than last year's 22.9.”

Last year, the Pelicans were well-balanced on the offensive end of the court, as they had three players averaging more than 20 points a night. Williamson was the top scorer for the team, however, as he averaged 22.9 points a game. 

Williamson did see his points per game improve a bit in the second half of the season, as he averaged 23.7 a night. One of the reasons for the improvement was Williamson being able to play a few more minutes per game, as his conditioning improved. 

Conditioning is always going to be the biggest topic for Williamson, as when he has averaged 33 minutes a night, he scored 27.0 and 26.0 points per game each year. When healthy, Williamson has shown that he can be the unique talent everyone thought he was going to be out of college. However, staying healthy has certainly hampered his development. 

If Williamson can stay healthy and on the court, he can easily score over 25 points a night and be the team-leader for the Pelicans.