8. New Orleans Pelicans: Zion Williamson, Brandon Ingram, CJ McCollum
This is another Big 3 where health will be a major factor in its performance. Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram are a couple of the most fun players in the NBA, but the New Orleans Pelicans have learned that it’s hard to be reliant on the former.
When Williamson is on the court, he’s electric. But he only played in 29 games last year due to a hamstring injury and missed the entire previous season with a Jones fracture in his right foot. The maladies are adding up for the wing, a fear before he ever stepped foot in the NBA.
During his career, Williamson has averaged 25.8 points and 7 rebounds per game. His talent has never been a question, but his health remains an ongoing dilemma for this franchise.
Brandon Ingram rarely gets his due from a national perspective, but he’s everything the Pelicans should hope a healthy Williamson would be. He ended last season with a 42-point performance and had multiple triple-doubles for the first time in his career. He should be a scoring leader and do-it-all, rangy threat in the Big Easy once more.
CJ McCollum has been a quintessential professional for the Pelicans since being dealt from Portland during the 2021-22 season. He’s continued his scoring mastery while putting an increased emphasis on distributing, leading to his best assist numbers of his career.
This Big 3 carries mystique, as the trio spent just 172 minutes on the court together last season. They went 6-4 in the 10 games they started together, which would pace New Orleans right to a playoff spot if that proves repeatable.