The NBA regular season is a little more than a month away for the New Orleans Pelicans. They open up at home on October 23rd against the Chicago Bulls. Home games at the Smoothie King Center are a family-friendly atmosphere, with in-game entertainment, the Pelicans dance team, and New Orleans’ Pierre the Pelican mascot.
A recent NBA survey, conducted by casino.ca, polled fans to rank the league’s best mascots for the upcoming season. The nationwide poll solicited more than 2,000 fans, assessing factors such as best/worst mascots, most/least entertaining, and most/least intimidating, as well as their sentiment toward mascots in general.
Pierre the Pelican ranked as the fourth-worst NBA mascot among voters.
The New Orleans mascot received a 2.96 out of 5 ranking in the best mascot category, although Pelicans fans were 92% in agreement that mascots enhance the game day experience. Pierre debuted with the team in 2014 after the team changed its name from the Hornets to the Pelicans. Pierre replaced Hugo the Hornet, who returned as the mascot for the Charlotte Hornets starting with the 2014–15 NBA season.
The name Pierre was chosen by fans after an online poll on the team’s website allowed participants to name the new mascot. Shortly after the unveiling in 2014, a redesign for Pierre commenced after complaints the original design was too frightening for kids. Interestingly, another New Orleans mascot appears on the poll.
King Cake Baby ranks ahead of Pierre at No. 25 in the league for best mascots, with a 3.13 overall ranking. The Mardi Gras-themed mascot appears during Carnival season with usually mixed results.
Hall of Fame basketball player and current TNT Sports commentator Charles Barkley famously donned the mascot as “one of the creepiest things” he’s ever seen. The King Cake baby scored 4.02 out of 5 in the scariest/intimidating mascot category.
Pierre makes his return to the Smoothie King Center next month when the season begins. The Pelicans figure to once again be in the thick of things to compete in the Western Conference. New Orleans won 49 games last season, the second most in franchise history, and made one of the premier trades of the offseason in acquiring two-way guard Dejounte Murray from the Atlanta Hawks.
The team has a roster full of talent, including Murray, Zion Williamson, Brandon Ingram, CJ McCollum, Herb Jones, Trey Murphy III, and others. Head Coach Willie Green enters his fourth season with the team, looking to build off the success of the first three that saw New Orleans make the playoffs twice. The Pelicans, Pierre, and even the King Cake Baby will be there this season to make it a fan-first environment.
