The New Orleans Pelicans are an American expert basketball team based in New Orleans. The Pelicans compete in the National Basketball Organization (NBA) as a participant of the organization s Western Conference Southwest Department. The team plays its house games in the Shake King Center. The Pelicans were established as the New Orleans Hornets in the 2002-- 03 season when then-owner of the Charlotte Hornets, George Shine, transferred the franchise business to New Orleans. As a result of the damages caused by Typhoon Katrina in 2005, the franchise momentarily transferred to Oklahoma City, where they invested two periods officially referred to as the New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets. The team went back to New Orleans permanent for the 2007-- 08 period. In 2013 the franchise announced it would certainly rename itself the Pelicans, effective after the final thought of the 2012-- 13 season. The Charlotte Hornets name, background, and documents from 1988 to 2002 were gone back to its initi...