It wasn’t by design, but by the time New Orleans was finished putting together its 15-member roster in the offseason, one-third of Pelicans players were Duke University products. Asked this summer if there’s a common thread between former Blue Devils now playing in the NBA, Pelicans GM Trajan Langdon – himself a Duke guard in the 1990s – immediately thought of one trait: Self-awareness.
“More than anything, (Duke pros) understand who they are as a basketball player,” Langdon said. “(It’s a mindset to) do whatever you do best, and bring that to your team so your team can be successful. If you can expand it, great, but if not, have a really good understanding day-to-day of who you are.”
During Thursday’s 122-107 victory over Denver, New Orleans’ first win of the young season, the Pelicans’ Duke contingent provided an excellent illustration of Langdon’s description. Although the most-discussed member of the five “Bayou Blue Devils” is sidelined by injury, No. 1 pick Zion Williamson, the other four Mike Krzyzewski-coached Pelicans turned in a spectacular combined performance against the Nuggets. The quartet of Jahlil Okafor, Frank Jackson, Brandon Ingram and JJ Redick shot 25/37 from the field (67.6 percent) and scored 79 points. Duke may comprise 33 percent of New Orleans’ roster, but on Thursday, the Blue Devils generated nearly 65 percent of their NBA team’s scoring, while accomplishing a quirky NBA statistical feat. Via the Elias Sports Bureau, after Okafor tallied 26 points, followed by Ingram with 25 and Jackson with 21, it was the first time since the 1990s that three players from the same college scored 20-plus points for the same NBA team in a game. Redick added a quiet seven points, but was perfect shooting, at 2/2 from both the field and the foul line.
Let’s take a closer look at what each of the three younger “Dukies” accomplished Thursday, within the context of how they’ve progressed as players since joining New Orleans, all relatively recently:
Jahlil Okafor
Now in his fifth NBA season overall, Okafor’s 26 points represented the second most he’s scored in a New Orleans win since arriving in the Crescent City last season (he had 27 in a win at Houston in January). Okafor has gotten himself into the best shape of his pro career, which allows to be on the floor for more minutes, as he did vs. Denver when he logged 34 and outplayed opposing All-Star center Nikola Jokic (13 points on just 5/6 shooting in 27 minutes).
In addition to the individual stats, the Pelicans were plus-19 with Okafor on the court, while the Nuggets were minus-16 with Jokic.
“He’s just coming into his own now, having that confidence,” Langdon described of Okafor this offseason.
Post-ups seem to be rapidly vanishing from NBA offenses, but New Orleans often ran its attack through Okafor on Thursday and the 6-foot-11, 275-pounder responded by shooting 8/13 from the field and 10/13 at the foul line.
Frank Jackson
The second-year guard’s 21 points marked the fifth time he’s tallied 20-plus points in the NBA, but it was the first instance in which the Pelicans won the game. Just 21 years old, Jackson shot 4/6 from three-point range against the Nuggets, equaling his career high in single-game makes (he was 4/4 vs. Cleveland in January). He came out scorching the nets, with his only early misfire coming on a heat-check deep three-pointer.
“He got hot and just never looked back,” Okafor said. “He’s super aggressive. Offensively, he’s just very talented. He’s bigger than pretty much all the other guards, stronger than the other guards and super athletic. He’s a load to handle.”
Jackson spent significant time in the offseason working out with teammate Jrue Holiday (19 points, 5/9 three-point shooting vs. Denver), preparing to hopefully make a leap after logging progressively more minutes in ’18-19, particularly in the second half of his rookie campaign. Holiday was pleased to see his protégé erupt.
“I think Frank’s been seeing that ever since preseason,” Holiday said, when asked if the game is beginning to slow down for Jackson. “To come out here and kill like this, it’s fun for me, but it’s fun for him and everybody else.”
Brandon Ingram
Ingram has played so well through five games and been so productive offensively that his 25-point game Thursday was essentially “just another day at the office” for him. The 22-year-old – who moved back to his more natural position of small forward Thursday, with Nicolo Melli inserted at power forward in the first unit – is New Orleans’ most consistent player early in ’19-20, having posted 22, 25, 35, 27 and 25 points so far. If you go back to his final six games played of ’18-19 with the Lakers, Ingram’s run of offensive production is even more impressive, because he notched 27, 29, 32, 23, 31 and 25 points in those games. Add it up and the lanky 6-foot-9, 190-pounder is tied with Bradley Beal and Trae Young as the NBA’s eighth-leading scorer early this season, putting up 26.8 points per game.
In Thursday’s game vs. Denver, Ingram amassed 11 trips to the foul line, the most he’s taken in a game since December ’17. He also dished out five assists, already the fourth time he’s accumulated five or more dimes this season.
