Projections for the 2024-25 NBA season have the The New Orleans Pelicans The Red Devils are expected to be in contention for the Western Conference playoffs again. They should be in a good position to clinch one of the final spots outside of the NBA Play-In Tournament, which they have participated in for the past three seasons.
This is a team that needs to improve, as they made a splash by acquiring Dejounte Murray from the Atlanta Hawks. With a stellar defense in place, Murray will also help take the offense to another level with his playmaking as a point guard.
Willie Green will have a lot of talented players to rely on, as more than five players can compete for a spot in the starting lineup. If NBA 2K25’s ratings are any indication, the Pelicans are going to do very well.
This week, the top 100 players were revealed. New Orleans fans are going to have a lot of fun playing as their favorite team this season, as they appear to be among the highest rated in the game.
Five pelicans landed in the top 100. The first two to be revealed are Herbert Jones and CJ McCollum. Jones received a grade of 82, up three points from last season and ranked 73rd.
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He has a defensive rating of 82, which seems low, with an elite perimeter defense of 94 and 3-point shooting of 85. McCollum is No. 60 with an overall rating of 84, with an excellent outside scoring rating of 91.
Brandon Ingram is next on the list, coming in at #49. He received an overall score of 85 with an external rating score of 87. His overall score is actually down one point from his result in 2K24, but remains the same as when the game launched last year.
Murray came in at No. 45 with an 86 overall, up two points from last year. With a 91 outside scoring rating and 85 perimeter defense, he’s a solid two-way player. With 32 badges, he tops all other players ranked similarly to him in that category.
Enter the upper half of the #NBA2KTop100 đź‘€
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Finally, Pelicans star Zion Williamson is the team’s highest-rated player. He comes in at No. 30 with an 88 rating. That’s actually a two-point drop from last season, as his production has dropped off a bit in the 2023-24 campaign, but he was able to play a career-high 70 games.
Williamson has elite internal ratings and his athletics numbers, with a maximum vertical jump of 99. His potential remains very high, given a 94 in this category.