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NBA: Who is the best duo from each franchise’s history

By Christopher Jeter

CHICAGO, IL - MAY 6: Scottie Pippen #33 of the Chicago Bulls is seen talking to Michael Jordan #23 of the Chicago Bulls during the game against the Atlanta Hawks on May 6, 1997 at the United Center in Chicago, IL. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 1997 NBAE (Photo by Scott Cunningham/NBAE via Getty Images)
CHICAGO, IL - MAY 6: Scottie Pippen #33 of the Chicago Bulls is seen talking to Michael Jordan #23 of the Chicago Bulls during the game against the Atlanta Hawks on May 6, 1997 at the United Center in Chicago, IL. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 1997 NBAE (Photo by Scott Cunningham/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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(Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images)
(Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images) /

Best duo from New Orleans Pelicans: Chris Paul and David West

While it’s easy to place his lack of championships under an intense microscope, that blight on Chris Paul’s otherwise-stellar career obfuscates how much of a floor raiser he was during his prime.

We all know how he and Blake Griffin turned the LA Clippers into a respectable franchise, but his time carrying the New Orleans Pelicans, then known as the Hornets, often gets forgotten. But it was in New Orleans where Paul became the best point guard in the NBA, putting a mediocre team and head coach on his bulky shoulders while his lesser contemporaries collected championships on more competent teams.

The second Paul put on that Hornets jersey, he transformed an 18-win laughingstock to a presentable 38-win outfit, as his court vision and control of the offense concealed some of the team’s many weaknesses.

Despite the rest of the Hornets roster being as scintillating as a loaf of wet Wonder bread, Paul did have one All-Star to play off of: forward David West. West’s arrival to the Hornets predated Paul’s by a couple of years, so by the time the former Wake Forest Demon Deacon joined the team, the big man was already a fully-formed, second-tier, low post star.

Paul and West spent a half-dozen seasons together in New Orleans, accumulating .184 WS/48 and keeping those mundane Hornets teams afloat. After they left, the Hornets/Pelicans moved on to wasting another generational talent, Anthony Davis, and were recently gifted another one in Zion Williamson. We’ll see how that works out for them.