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Did You Know That… New Orleans’ five fastest-paced seasons in team history are the five most recent?

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Over the past seven seasons, New Orleans’ NBA franchise has featured a Louisiana-centric nickname, along with blue, red and gold uniforms, a drastic departure from the club’s color scheme from the previous 11 years. Virtually every aesthetic element of the Crescent City’s professional basketball team has changed in comparison to its inception in 2002, including the name of the renovated Smoothie King Center.

As it turns out, over the past half-decade, the style of basketball is another area that has undergone a dramatic makeover. If it often seemed like the “Hornets era” featured a methodical, deliberate attack, there was good reason for fans to feel that way. Incredibly, New Orleans never finished in the top half of the NBA in pace during the entirety of its run with an insect-themed nickname, a streak that also stretched into the first two “Pelicans” seasons. The closest New Orleans ever came to placing in the top 15 of pace (among the 30 teams) during its first 13 seasons was ’09-10, when a No. 16 finish in tempo was spearheaded by rookie guards Darren Collison and Marcus Thornton, who unexpectedly filled large roles due to injuries.

New Orleans pace by season

Via NBA.com

Season … Poss/per48     Rank among NBA teams

2019-20 … 103.96             2 (only played 64 games)

2018-19 … 103.89             2                             

2017-18 … 101.48             1 (advanced to Western Conference semifinals)

2016-17 … 98.56               8

2015-16 … 97.64               8

2014-15 … 92.29               27 (lost in first round of playoffs)

2013-14 … 93.07               20 (first season as Pelicans)

2012-13 … 89.50               30 (final season as Hornets)

2011-12 … 89.27               30 (66-game season)

2010-11 … 89.40               29 (lost in first round of playoffs)

2009-10 … 93.53               16

2008-09 … 88.74               28 (lost in first round of playoffs)

2007-08 … 91.04               26 (advanced to Western Conference semifinals)

2006-07 … 91.19               23

2005-06 … 90.32               21

2004-05 … 88.97               28

2003-04 … 90.59               19 (lost in first round of playoffs)

2002-03 … 90.72               23 (lost in first round of playoffs)

Since Alvin Gentry took over as head coach in ’15-16, New Orleans has not only shifted into a much higher gear pace-wise, but it’s also consistently become one of the league’s fastest attacks. For the second straight season, the Pelicans rank second in the NBA in possessions per 48 minutes, at 103.96 (only Milwaukee is playing faster at 105.36, the highest rate for any team since the 1990s).

The recent trend to push the pace and seek fast-break opportunities is one of the NBA’s most noticeable developments stylistically – arguably even more than the increased emphasis on three-point shooting. According to NBA.com’s searchable database – which dates back to ’96-97 – the five fastest-paced teams over the past 24 seasons are all from either this season or last season. The current Bucks and the Trae Young-fueled Hawks of ’18-19 are the only recent squads to rely on a quicker tempo than the ’19-20 Pelicans.

Fastest-paced teams since 1996-97

Milwaukee 2019-20 (105.36)

Atlanta 2018-19 (104.56)

New Orleans 2019-20 (103.96)

Minnesota 2019-20 (103.94)

New Orleans 2019-20 (103.89)

How much has the league’s pace of play changed from only a few years ago? Over a 19-season stretch from ’96-97 through ’14-15, a total of only three teams topped 100.0 in pace.

Fastest-paced teams prior to 2015-16

(NBA.com’s advanced team stats date to 1996-97)

Golden State 2009-10 (101.52)

Sacramento 1999-2000 (100.66)

Denver 2007-08 (100.58)

There are a total of SIXTEEN teams in ’19-20 with a pace of at least 100.0. For comparison’s sake, Phoenix’s pace of 101.76 ranks ninth this season, but is faster than any team over that aforementioned 19-year span. In another telling example of how much has changed, the Steve Nash-led “Six Seconds or Less” Suns registered a pace of 96.92 during the second of the point guard’s back-to-back MVP seasons. That would rank second-to-last in the NBA of ’19-20, just barely edging the current Charlotte Hornets’ tempo of 96.24.

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