The Pelicans disappointed during the 2024-25 season. They won just 21 games, one year after winning 49 games and making the playoffs.
Injuries played a major role as Zion Williamson, Brandon Ingram and Dejounte Murray played 30, 18 and 31 games, respectively. New Orleans traded Ingram at the deadline and made some offseason moves to shake up the roster.
DraftKings Sportsbook projects the Pelicans to improve with its win total set at 31.5. Can they stay healthy, and will the new additions help the team return to the postseason?
If you’re interested in seeing any of the other NBA teams’ projected win totals, check out DKN‘s master list of the full 2025-2026 NBA projected win totals.
New Orleans Pelicans 2025-2026 projected win total
Analysis
The Pelicans made some promising moves during the offseason, which could set the team up for some improvement during the 2025-26 season. The biggest move was trading CJ McCollum for Jordan Poole.
Poole, 26, has two years left on his contract, while McCollum, 33, is on an expiring deal. While Poole didn’t have the prettiest two years in Washington, he still averaged 20.5 points per game on a career-best 37.8 percent from distance this past season.
The 26-year-old is better suited in a secondary or tertiary scoring role, which would allow his efficiency to rise. He was a major contributor to the Warriors 2022 championship team, so there’s reason to believe he can be a part of another strong core.
It’s unlikely the Pelicans are ready for a championship run, but there’s all sorts of surprises waiting in the upcoming NBA season.
In addition to Poole, the Pelicans signed Kevon Looney, reuniting the two former Warriors. Looney gives the team some frontcourt depth and pairs with newly drafted Derik Queen.
Queen is an exciting prospect with great footwork and scoring touch. It’s a crowded frontcourt between him, Looney and Yves Missi at the center position and Williamson and Herbert Jones at power forward.
All the acquisitions are nice, but everything relies on Williamson’s health. He played 30 games last year and the Pelicans suffered. A year prior, he played 70, and the team won 49. His talent is clear, but availability is often the best ability.
New Orleans Pelicans projected win total: Best bets, predictions
New Orleans Pelicans Under 31.5 (-115)
All the offseason moves have been good, but let’s not forget what conference the Pelicans play in. The West is as difficult as it gets with 13 teams in range of a play-in spot last year — only New Orleans and Utah were out of contention.
As many as 14 Western Conference teams can make a run for a play-in spot with the Jazz being the sole exception. Still, there are only 10 spots and not every team can win 40-plus games.
Some squads will succumb to injuries, while others will underperform against better teams. The Pelicans will likely deal with both as Williamson has been prone to injuries throughout his NBA career, and the team isn’t better than most Western Conference squads.
Had they been in the East, which is wide open, maybe they could squeeze out a play-in spot. But they have to play Western Conference teams more often, which creates a more difficult schedule. Even if the team is fully healthy, the roster doesn’t quite stack up against many others in the West.