The New Orleans Pelicans are one of the newest NBA franchises, being added to the league as the New Orleans Hornets in the 2002-23 season. Even though the franchise has been around for just over two decades, a few future Hall of Famers started their careers in New Orleans.
Superstars like Chris Paul and Anthony Davis each came through New Orleans, and while they ultimately traded, it is a testament to how this franchise has a bit more history than many would expect.
The Pelicans are gearing up to start the 2025-26 season on Wednesday with a revamped roster, and one of their new additions could even make franchise history.
Sep 23, 2025; Metairie, LA, USA; New Orleans Pelicans guard Jordan Poole (3) shoots a half court shot during media day at Ochsner Sports Performance Center. Mandatory Credit: Matthew Hinton-Imagn Images / Matthew Hinton-Imagn Images
Even before playing a game for New Orleans, Poole is expected to be one of the best shooters to ever come through the franchise.
The Athletic’s Will Guillory predicts that Jordan Poole will break the Pelicans’ single-season three-point record this NBA season.
The record is currently held by CJ McCollum, who the Pelicans traded to the Washington Wizards this offseason to acquire Poole. McCollum drained 239 threes in the 2023-24 season to break the record previously set by legendary sharpshooter Peja Stojakovic, who made 231 in the 2007-08 season.
Poole undoubtedly has a strong case to break this record in his debut season as a Pelican, as he made 235 threes last season in Washington, while playing just 68 games. Assuming Poole plays at least 75 games, he would need to make 3.2 three-pointers per game, which is still less than his average last season.
Last year was a career-year for Jordan Poole
He shot a career high from 3 (37.8%), and did so while shooting more 3s than ever (career-high 9.1 3PA/g and career-high .588 3PAr) AND self-creating more 3s than ever (32.6% of his 3s were unassisted) pic.twitter.com/ucV0SqzO5A https://t.co/JYIfAbHHXV
— Point Made Basketball (@pointmadebball) October 17, 2025
“A fully healthy season playing next to Williamson and Trey Murphy will give him plenty of opportunities from outside. I’m expecting Poole to be one of the top high-volume 3-point shooters in the league this year,” Guillory wrote to back up his lofty prediction for Poole.
Poole is New Orleans’ best shot-creator, and the team will undoubtedly need him to take on a significant offensive role if they want to be successful. Of course, things will get a little tricky when Dejounte Murray returns from injury to give the Pelicans another player who is best with the ball in his hands, but they will figure that out when the time comes.
As for Poole, while making franchise history in his first season with the Pelicans sounds outlandish, it would not be too shocking to see him break McCollum’s single-season record, and it would be a great sign for New Orleans after the slightly controversial trade to acquire him.
