New Orleans Hornets To Officially Change Name To Pelicans

Just when it seemed like things couldn’t get more embarrassing for Anthony Davis and the 14-27 New Orleans Hornets, who are sitting at the bottom of the Southwest Division, Marc Spears of Yahoo! Sports broke the news via Twitter that the team name will officially be changing to the “Pelicans”.

"Pelicans name and logo go used next season. Merchandise availability to be determined. Pelicans also old name of Nawlins minor league teams."

While NBA fans have been aware of this news for a while now, the franchise has yet to make the official announcement which is reportedly scheduled for Thursday. Tom Benson, the owner of the Hornets, reasoned that he wanted the team name to better reflect the city of New Orleans. The name “Pelican” finds its roots in being the official bird of Louisiana.

Among the other potential names were Rougarou, Mosquitos, Swamp Dogs and Bullsharks. It’s rather evident that if the NBA has a “team naming committee”, it’s lacking in creativity.

It’s important to remember that there a plethora of odd franchise names out there and they all took some getting used to. At the same time, I understand why many fans share the sentiment, “Pelicans… really?!” The potential for the new uniforms, which will be blue, red and gold can be considered the silver lining of this fiasco.