National Basketball Association

Pictures of Pelicans History: New Orleans Pelicans win the lottery

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

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Pelican Debrief’s “Pictures of Pelicans History” is a series looking at the best and worst moments in the New Orleans Pelicans/Hornets history.

In this installment of “Pictures of Pelicans History,” it is time to take a look at the most important event of the post-Chris Paul era: the winning of the draft lottery and subsequent selection of Anthony Davis.

For the New Orleans Pelicans (Hornets at the time), the season after the long time face of the franchise, Chris Paul, was traded to the Los Angeles Clippers was beyond miserable. How bad was it? The most used lineup featured Trevor Ariza, Gustavo Ayon, Marco Belinelli, Jarrett Jack and Chris Kaman; so yeah, it was painful.

Eric Gordon, the centerpiece of the Chris Paul trade, played in just nine games and immediately soured fans on the idea of him being the new star of the team. After years of competitive basketball and exciting lineups, the disappointing start of the rebuild wore the fans and organization down almost immediately.

In the end, it all proved to be worth it, though. Despite finishing with the fifth worst record in the entire Association, the organization beat the odds and landed the first overall pick in the 2012 NBA Draft. Anthony Davis, the consensus number one pick, would make his way to the Crescent City, and a new era of basketball was on the rise in New Orleans.

Myths about the NBA fixing the lottery as a reward for new team owner Tom Benson aside, winning the 2012 Lottery was the best possible scenario for the team after not receiving a star level player in return for Chris Paul. Anthony Davis, a generational talent, gave the team a cornerstone to build around and a blueprint for what the organization needed to accomplish.

The winning of the 2012 NBA Draft Lottery and subsequent drafting of Anthony Davis may be the most important moment in franchise history so far.