New Orleans Pelicans NBA Championship Odds 2023-24

The current New Orleans Pelicans NBA championship odds are . The Pelicans’ Finals hopes were dashed when Zion Williamson went down with a lingering hamstring injury in late December. Before Williamson sustained the injury, the Pelicans were hovering at and around first place in the Western Conference. While they plummeted the following few months, there is still a lot to be excited about with this young core. Can they stay healthy this season and replicate the success of the first half of last year?

New Orleans Pelicans NBA Championship Odds & Futures 2023-24

All New Orleans Pelicans’ futures are now available to bet on in the table below. The list of futures you can bet on includes their odds to win the championship, the Western Conference, the Southwest Division, and their win total.

New Orleans did not make any major moves this off-season, but it really did not need to do much. The Pelicans are a wing-heavy team with a wide array of talent that can perform at a high level on both sides of the ball. Brandon Ingram, Trey Murphy III, and Zion Williamson are all All-Stars or All-Star caliber players; they join uber-talented scoring guard CJ McCollum and double-double machine Jonas Valanciunas in the starting lineup.

Additionally, the Pels have two of the peskiest defenders in the game (Jose Alvarado and Herb Jones) coming off the bench to propel the second unit. Joining Alvarado and Jones are “big guard” Dyson Daniels, who is bound to take a major step forward in year two, “movement shooter extraordinaire” Jordan Hawkins, and some combination of Larry Nance Jr and Naji Marshall.

New Orleans projects to be amongst the best defensive teams in the NBA and has enough firepower to outscore almost every team in the NBA (save Sacramento and Denver.) That combination will be a successful one; the Pels just need Ingram, McCollum, and Zion healthy for an entire season.

Reasons Why New Orleans Pelicans Can & Can’t Win NBA 2023-24 Championship

Strengths

• Defense: Last season, the Pelicans finished with the sixth-lowest defensive rating in the NBA, despite having several injuries to key defenders. Few teams, if any, have a peskier wing combination than them, as Dyson Daniels, Jose Alvarado, Herb Jones, and Trey Murphy III are all in the rotation. New Orleans also held opponents to the lowest three-point percentage in the league at just 33.9%, which was half of a percent lower than the next closest team. New Orleans could easily be the best defensive team in the league if it just got better interior defense and rim protection; however, Jonas Valanciunas cannot provide that. If the Pels continue to experience this problem, don’t be surprised if they make a huge move for a rim-protecting center at the trade deadline and coast into the playoffs as one of the best teams in the Western Conference. That is a substantial improvement area that could catapult this team.
• Star Power: It seems to take a trio of All-Star level players to be a championship contender these days and, luckily, New Orleans has that and then some. The combination of Brandon Ingram, CJ McCollum, and Zion Williamson is lethal, when they are healthy, and another All-Star-caliber player in Trey Murphy III should take another huge leap this season. Add in a talented scoring center in Jonas Valanciunas and a boatload of bench depth, and this team has the necessary components to be a contender.

Weaknesses

• Injuries/Missing Zion Williamson: This is the obvious weakness for the Pels, and was on full display for us last season. Injuries derailed this team last year, and there is more than a good chance that could happen again this season, as Ingram and Williamson are fairly injury prone. If the Pels want to be a true contender, they need everyone healthy for an entire season. Still, this is possible, as Denver was in their position not long ago and finally put all the pieces together to win a ring.