NBA · Updated Oct 19, 2026
New Orleans Pelicans First Basket Stats
How often the New Orleans Pelicans win the opening tip and score the game's first basket, who scores it for them, and from which position. Built from every tracked NBA game.
- The New Orleans Pelicans win the opening tip 24.4% of the time (82 games).
- The New Orleans Pelicans score the game's first basket 50% of the time (82 games).
- When the New Orleans Pelicans win the tip, they score the first basket 80% of the time (15 games).
- At home, the New Orleans Pelicans score the first basket 56.1% of the time (41 games); on the road, 43.9% (41 games).
- Forwards score 51.2% of first baskets for the New Orleans Pelicans, guards 41.5% and centers 7.3% (41 games).
- Herbert Jones has the most first baskets for the New Orleans Pelicans: 8 in 56 starts (14.3%).
| Player | First baskets | Starts | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Herbert JonesF | 8 | 56 | 14.3% |
| Jeremiah FearsG | 7 | 49 | 14.3% |
| Zion WilliamsonF | 7 | 55 | 12.7% |
| Saddiq BeyG | 7 | 64 | 10.9% |
| Trey Murphy IIIF | 6 | 66 | 9.1% |
| Position | First baskets | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Forwards | 21 | 51.2% |
| Guards | 17 | 41.5% |
| Centers | 3 | 7.3% |
More first basket stats
- NBA and WNBA first basket stats: the league leaders, every team, and how often the tip winner scores first
- New Orleans Pelicans in FirstIQ: the team page, with its games, roster and first basket rates by player
- First basket picks today: the model's pick for every game today, one of them free
New Orleans Pelicans first basket questions
The New Orleans Pelicans have scored the game's first basket in 50% of their tracked games (82 games).
When they win the opening tip, they score first 80% of the time (15 games).
The New Orleans Pelicans have won the opening tip in 24.4% of their tracked games (82 games). The team that wins the tip gets the first possession, which is why a first basket pick starts with the jump ball.
Herbert Jones, with 8 first baskets in 56 starts, followed by Jeremiah Fears (7) and Zion Williamson (7). The table on this page has each player's first baskets, starts and rate.
On the first basket picks page: the model's pick for every game today, one of them free, with every finished game graded.