There’s A New Name For The Hornets, The Pelicans

Photo Credit: RMTip21

Reports have surfaced around the league that the New Orleans Hornets, the NBA’s first ever league-owned franchise, will soon be changing its team name to the New Orleans Pelicans. The new change is expected to occur as early as next season.

New Orleans Saints’ owner Tom Benson had purchased the Hornets from the NBA back in April. Benson is the primary reason the franchise is anticipating a name change. According to Yahoo! Sports via Marc J. Spears, Benson apparently also owns the rights to the nickname Pelicans and plan to incorporate a more direct association to the state of Louisiana through the NBA team.

Why is Tom Benson changing the name to the New Orleans Pelicans?

The state of Louisiana is known as the Pelican State. The pelican represents the state’s bird and can also be found on the state flag.

If the name change was to happen, rumors have also been passed along that Charlotte Bobcats’ owner Michael Jordan would take into consideration changing the Bobcats to the Hornets in the case that the name was once again available.