Bill Simmons has stirred up fresh debate across the NBA landscape by openly questioning New Orleans’ legitimacy as a viable home for a professional basketball franchise. Speaking on his podcast, the veteran sports analyst argued that despite roughly 50 years of on-and-off professional basketball in the city, New Orleans has never developed the ingrained basketball culture that sustains other small markets.
While traditional markets have expanded and nurtured basketball-ingrained cultures, New Orleans has consistently struggled to build momentum, even after decades of professional presence.
Bill Simmons Questions New Orleans’ NBA Future While Defending Small Markets Like Portland and Memphis
On the latest episode of “The Bill Simmons Podcast”, Simmons pointed out that while Portland and Memphis are prime examples of small markets with a deeply rooted love for basketball, New Orleans “doesn’t have enough of a fanbase in place to even care that much.”
Simmons’ comments come amid a public standoff in Portland, where new Trail Blazers owner Tom Dundon has clashed with the city over a roughly $600 million renovation of the aging Moda Center. The Oregon Legislature approved $365 million in state-backed bonds toward the project, but negotiations have grown contentious with the team’s lease running through 2030, all while the NBA Board of Governors has voted to explore expansion in Seattle and Las Vegas.
“I’ve had people ask me over the last couple of weeks because they could tell I was kind of mad about this Portland thing. Like, ‘Well, why didn’t you stick up for New Orleans the same way?’ And I think the difference is, we still don’t have evidence that the NBA works in New Orleans,” stated Simmons.
“You could blame the owners, you could blame the city, it’s not a big enough market, whatever you want to say, but it’s just never worked. And despite the fact that they have a good handful, I don’t know how many thousand fans, I don’t think the franchise has ever been successful there,” he added.
The city of New Orleans has seen multiple eras, starting with the Jazz from 1974 to 1979 before their move to Utah, then the Hornets arriving from Charlotte in 2002. That franchise temporarily relocated to Oklahoma City after Hurricane Katrina, returning in 2007, and rebranded as the Pelicans in 2013, a move that allowed Charlotte to reclaim the Hornets name and the franchise’s pre-2002 accolades.
Despite this history, the city’s passion for basketball doesn’t seem to rival that of other small-market franchises.
“It’s just never worked, and I’m not sure they should have an NBA team. I feel way differently about Portland…Even Memphis has proven that they can be a really awesome small-market franchise…I wouldn’t say they should move either. New Orleans would be the one that I think you have to look at, unfortunately,” Simmons added.
In 24 seasons since 2002, the franchise has appeared in the playoffs nine times but has never advanced to the Western Conference Finals.
Simmons stopped short of reporting that relocation is actually on the table. His argument was comparative: if the NBA is going to question whether one of its markets can support a team, he believes New Orleans warrants that scrutiny more than Portland does, a position that reopens the broader debate over expansion, existing markets, and how much fan devotion should factor into either.
