Discover surprising efficiency leaders on the New Orleans Pelicans' offense.
The New Orleans Pelicans haven't always been able to hang their hat on a spectacular offense, and that has been a large reason that this has been a "wasted" year. Still, a handful of players should have their heads held high.
When looking at the scorers who have been most efficient for the Pelicans this season, there would be some surprising names. DeAndre Jordan and Dejounte Murray are both in the team's top five, despite playing the fewest games of non-two-way players.
Murray is an unfortunate case of him coming back too late in the year to mean anything, but it does add some optimism for next season. Jordan probably shouldn't be one of their most efficient scorers, but he's looked good in his limited time on the court.
Not counting those two for smaller sample sizes, these are the three most efficient scorers on the team per CleaningTheGlass (Jordan had 135.9 PSA and Murray has 119.0):
No. 1 - Karlo Matkovic - 140.4 PSA
A lot of people forget that this was just Matkovic's second year in the NBA. He was drafted in 2022 and took a little bit of time before making the jump from Croatia. He has at least done enough to earn that $2.3 million club option for next season.
Matkovic has averaged 5.7 points, 3.7 rebounds and just under a block per game on 60.4/42.2/73.2 shooting splits and 14.7 minutes a night. He can jump through the roof of any gem and can stretch the floor when needed. He's not perfect, but he's a great piece to have on the bench.
No. 2 - Trey Murphy III - 123.8 PSA
This is why Murphy is so coveted and why the asking price is so high. Not only does he have over 100 more shots attempted than the second-place player on this team, but he has not sacrificed any of his efficiency.
The 25-year-old has averaged 21.7 points, 5.7 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 1.5 steals on 47.1/38.3/88.3 shooting splits. He has remained a sharpshooter while also improving his game elsewhere this season. This was another star turn for him and the Pelicans already have him on a team-friendly deal.
No. 3 - Bryce McGowens - 122.1 PSA
McGowens has had an unfortunate end to the year as he deals with a toe fracture, but he's already a winner, as he was converted from a two-way player to a full-contract player. This efficiency is part of that.
In his fourth season, McGowens has averaged 8.1 points, 2.1 rebounds and 1.5 assists on 48.1/40.9/77.9 shooting splits. That sort of three-point shooting combined with his solid defensive effort certainly makes him a fun young player.