NBA Regular Season Ends, New Orleans Pelicans Officially Exist

With the NBA regular season having ended, the NBA's newest franchise has begun with the New Orleans Hornets officially changing their name to the New Orleans Pelicans.

The Pelicans, a name chosen by team owner Tom Benson as a symbol of the Gulf Coast region's culture, went 27-55 this season which was the second worst record in the Western Conference and the fifth worst in the NBA. They will spend much of this summer trying to woo talented and oft-injured guard Eric Gordon to stay in NOLA.

For what it's worth, I think that the team's rebranding to the Pelicans is awesome. It is one of the few team names in the NBA that actually makes sense relative to the team's geography and anytime a basketball team can use a mascot that flies, it is a good thing given the high flying nature of the sport.

Also, the new Pelicans fitted hats look absolutely fresh. There is no doubt that I'll be picking one up, as opposed to the Hornet which stopped being cool once it flew out of Charlotte.