Best draft picks in New Orleans Pelicans history

The draft is a seminal moment for many incoming players. Putting aside competitive stakes, each young athlete's life is irreversibly altered by the fame and fortune that comes with being an NBA player. The exorbitant contract values ensures these players almost never have to worry about personal finances. Plus, these young guns get to play alongside some of their basketball idols for a living. With these high stakes, it's easy to see why the draft is so revered.

Likewise, the fortunes of a city and franchise can be completely transformed by a draft pick. LeBron James, for instance, brought Cleveland its first sports championship in 52 years and was also reportedly worth hundreds of millions to the city's downtown economy. It almost goes without saying that Michael Jordan built the Chicago Bulls from the ground up into a championship team whose dynamic would reverberate through the decades.

With that in mind, Stacker compiled a list of the best draft picks in New Orleans Pelicans history using data from Basketball-Reference.com. Players were ranked according to a formula that approximates their career achievements, career value, and play quality. The formula encompasses Basketball-Reference.com's Hall of Fame probability, career win shares, and value over replacement player, aka VORP. For players drafted before data is available for VORP, half of the player's win shares were used in its place to calculate their Stacker score.

Basketball Hall of Fame inductees were given a minimum of 60% for their Hall of Fame probability, indicating a worthy résumé for their time but not up to par with some modern players. Scores were normalized to 100 based on the scoring leader. Keep reading to see where your favorite players fall on the list.

#11. Quincy Pondexter
- Stacker score: 1.3
- 26th overall pick in 2010
- Played one season with New Orleans Pelicans and one season with New Orleans Pelicans
- Career averages: 4.5 PTS, 1.8 REB, 0.7 AST
- Advanced statistics: 9.7 win shares, -1.8 box plus/minus, 0.3 VORP

#10. Herb Jones
- Stacker score: 1.7
- 35th overall pick in 2021
- Played two seasons with New Orleans Pelicans
- Career averages: 9.7 PTS, 3.9 REB, 2.3 AST
- Advanced statistics: 8.9 win shares, -0.4 box plus/minus, 1.7 VORP

#9. Zion Williamson
- Stacker score: 4.1
- First overall pick in 2019
- Played three seasons with New Orleans Pelicans
- Career averages: 25.8 PTS, 7.0 REB, 3.6 AST
- Advanced statistics: 14.2 win shares, 5.1 box plus/minus, 6.6 VORP
- Accolades
--- 2x All Star

#8. Marcus Thornton
- Stacker score: 4.7
- 43rd overall pick in 2009
- Played two seasons with New Orleans Pelicans
- Career averages: 11.9 PTS, 2.8 REB, 1.4 AST
- Advanced statistics: 20.0 win shares, 0.2 box plus/minus, 6.2 VORP

#7. Buddy Hield
- Stacker score: 6.1
- Sixth overall pick in 2016
- Played one season with New Orleans Pelicans
- Career averages: 16.1 PTS, 4.4 REB, 2.6 AST
- Advanced statistics: 21.4 win shares, 0.4 box plus/minus, 9.7 VORP
- Hall of Fame probability: 0.0%

#6. Brandon Bass
- Stacker score: 7.2
- 33rd overall pick in 2005
- Played two seasons with New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets
- Career averages: 8.7 PTS, 4.5 REB, 0.8 AST
- Advanced statistics: 42.8 win shares, -0.8 box plus/minus, 5.1 VORP

#5. J.R. Smith
- Stacker score: 11.0
- 18th overall pick in 2004
- Played one season with New Orleans Pelicans and one season with New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets
- Career averages: 12.4 PTS, 3.1 REB, 2.1 AST
- Advanced statistics: 46.3 win shares, 0.2 box plus/minus, 14.7 VORP
- Accolades
--- 2x NBA Champ

#4. Darren Collison
- Stacker score: 11.0
- 21st overall pick in 2009
- Played one season with New Orleans Pelicans
- Career averages: 12.5 PTS, 2.7 REB, 5.0 AST
- Advanced statistics: 49.9 win shares, 0.5 box plus/minus, 13.4 VORP

#3. David West
- Stacker score: 20.5
- 18th overall pick in 2003
- Played six seasons with New Orleans Pelicans and two seasons with New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets
- Career averages: 13.6 PTS, 6.4 REB, 2.2 AST
- Advanced statistics: 85.9 win shares, 1.7 box plus/minus, 27.6 VORP
- Accolades
--- 2x NBA Champ
--- 2x All Star

#2. Anthony Davis
- Stacker score: 45.2
- First overall pick in 2012
- Played one season with New Orleans Pelicans and six seasons with New Orleans Pelicans
- Career averages: 24.0 PTS, 10.4 REB, 2.4 AST
- Advanced statistics: 100.3 win shares, 6.1 box plus/minus, 46.1 VORP
- Hall of Fame probability: 98.6%
- Accolades
--- 2020 NBA Champ
--- 3x BLK Champ
--- 4x All-NBA
--- 4x All-Defensive

#1. Chris Paul
- Stacker score: 76.1
- Fourth overall pick in 2005
- Played two seasons with New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets and four seasons with New Orleans Pelicans
- Career averages: 17.9 PTS, 4.5 REB, 9.5 AST
- Advanced statistics: 205.1 win shares, 7.1 box plus/minus, 96.1 VORP
- Hall of Fame probability: 100.0%
- Accolades
--- 5x AST Champ
--- 2005-06 ROY
--- 11x All-NBA
--- 9x All-Defensive