The New Orleans Pelicans play in the Eastern Conference of the NBA.
The New Orleans Pelicans are an American professional basketball team based in New Orleans .. basketball. basketball. New Orleans. New Orleans. The Pelicans compete in the National Basketball Association -LRB- NBA -RRB- as a member club of the league 's Western Conference Southwest Division .. Western. Western Conference ( NBA ). Southwest. Southwest Division ( NBA ). National Basketball Association. National Basketball Association. Western Conference. Western Conference ( NBA ). Southwest Division. Southwest Division ( NBA ). The team plays their home games in the Smoothie King Center -LRB- formerly known as the New Orleans Arena -RRB- .. Smoothie King Center. Smoothie King Center. New Orleans. New Orleans. The Pelicans were established as the New Orleans Hornets in the when then-owner of the Charlotte Hornets , George Shinn , relocated the franchise to New Orleans .. New Orleans. New Orleans. Charlotte Hornets. Charlotte Hornets. George Shinn. George Shinn. relocated. relocation of professional sports teams. Due to the damage caused by Hurricane Katrina in 2005 , the franchise temporarily relocated to Oklahoma City , where they spent two seasons officially known as the New Orleans / Oklahoma City Hornets .. New Orleans. New Orleans. relocated. relocation of professional sports teams. Hurricane Katrina. Hurricane Katrina. temporarily relocated. Effect of Hurricane Katrina on the New Orleans Hornets. Oklahoma City. Oklahoma City. The team returned to New Orleans full-time for the 2007 -- 08 season .. New Orleans. New Orleans. On January 24 , 2013 , the franchise announced it would rename itself the Pelicans , effective after the conclusion of the 2012 -- 13 season .. The Charlotte Hornets name , history and records from 1988 to 2002 were returned to its original city to be used by the then -- Charlotte Bobcats franchise , which subsequently became the Charlotte Hornets , starting May 20 , 2014 .. Charlotte Hornets. Charlotte Hornets. In 14 seasons of play since the original franchise relocated from North Carolina , the Louisiana franchise has achieved an overall regular season record of 528 -- 604 , and has qualified for the playoffs six times .. relocated. relocation of professional sports teams. playoffs. NBA playoffs. Their achievements include one playoff series victory and one division title .