(Photo: Stephen Lew)
We should not be surprised that the NBA did not bestow a favorable schedule layout upon the New Orleans Pelicans.
Consider the factors:
**You are in one of the smallest markets in the league
**You are with a franchise that has not been competitive
**You are a team without marquee stars
**You are a franchise that was 26th of 30 teams in attendance last season
The release of the Pelicans schedule Thursday revealed the team will travel more than any other in the league in miles logged, according to Bookies.com, which listed the following breakdown:
Ahead of the 2026-27 NBA season, Bookies.com just ranked all 30 teams by total round-trip air miles based on the newly released regular-season schedule. The full league will cover nearly 1.3 million combined miles this year across five countries.
The New Orleans 2026-27 travel breakdown:
Total round-trip miles: 55,581.9
NBA rank: #1 most traveled in the NBA
League average: 43,122 miles (meaning the New Orleans Pelicans will travel 12,460 miles above average)
A primary reason for the significant travel is the two-game European series the Pelicans will play with the defending Western division champion San Antonio Spurs in Paris (Jan. 14) and Manchester, England (Jan. 17).
Taking those games out of the travel miles places the Pelicans toward the middle of the pack in that category.
The schedule maker did not do the Pelicans any favors, otherwise.
The Pelicans are tied for the most back-to-back games to play with 16 of those, constituting 32 games.
The league average is 14.2 back-to-back games.
It happens quickly. New Orleans has a pair of back-to-back games in its first five games of the season.
The Pelicans are also tied for the longest road trip of the season, a seven-game trip in 13 days from Jan. 30-Feb. 10, an Eastern swing for its annual Mardi Gras trip. Mardi Gras falls on Feb. 9, a bit early, in 2027.
To be fair, the Knicks and Lakers, a pair of marquee franchises, also have seven-game road trips.
The Pelicans are tied for the fewest number of nationally televised games with two – and both of those are the games in Europe against the Spurs.
When you look at the best teams in the league, the marquee brands, there is a different story.
Denver, with Nikola Jokic, are tied for the fewest back-to-back games with 12 and the Nuggets do not face that for the first time until No. 29-30.
The Knicks, not surprisingly, are tied for the fewest road back-to-back games with five.
The Spurs, not surprisingly, have the most rest days with 94.
The 76ers, with LeBron James and Jaylen Brown in the fold, have the fewest stretches of three games in four nights.
On the plus side, the schedule for the Pelicans is home-heavy early on, a key factor for a team that has struggled mightily early in the season for many years now and must get off to a good start to establish hope and momentum.
It is imperative to get off to a good start.
(Photo: Stephen Lew)
Among its first 13 games, only four will be against teams that reached the playoffs last season.
The Pelicans open the 2026-27 season with 11 of the first 16 games at home.
The months of October and November have been simply terrible for the Pelicans for a long time.
New Orleans has not started any season over .500 through its first 12 games of any season since the 2014-15 season, when the Pelicans opened with a 7-5 record.
Typically speaking, the Pelicans have improved annually after November, per numbers posted by NBA.com.
New Orleans monthly records, win percentage since 2020-21:
October: 9-17, .346
November: 27-51, .346
December: 35-38, .479
January: 32-59, .352
February: 36-33, .522
March: 45-42, .517
April: 18-31, .367
May: 3-6, .333 (Covid-impacted 2020-21 regular season stretched into mid-May)
The New Orleans Saints always take precedence over the Pelicans any other sports or entertainment entity in New Orleans.
Unfortunately, the Saints and Pelicans play on the same day four times (Nov. 8, Nov. 29, Dec. 13, Dec. 20), though times of those games are staggered
Finally, the Pelicans will have to split attention with the general public with important holidays, competing with family gatherings, activities, even worship.
New Orleans is home for Halloween against the Atlanta Hawks. I would not expect many youngsters in the stands that evening.
On New Year’s Eve, the Pelicans host Luka Doncic and the Los Angeles Lakers at 7 p.m. Perhaps some will attend, rather than watching fireworks.
You will have to convince your significant other to have a romantic date at Smoothie King Center Feb. 14 as the Pelicans host the Los Angeles Clippers for Valentine’s Day.
Further complicating that is the fact that Feb. 14 is also Super Bowl Sunday. Fortunately (perhaps not for your significant other) is the fact that the Pelicans game is at 1 p.m.
You can make the Pelicans game and make it home in time to watch the Super Bowl around 5:30 p.m.
Perhaps you can convince your date to head to an early Valentine’s Day dinner between the basketball game and the football game!
With first-year coach Jamahl Mosley, there is newfound optimism that the effort and performance of the team will improve.
To do so, the Pelicans will have to earn it, based on what is one of the more challenging schedules in the NBA.