Brandon Ingram hasn’t played a game in the Smoothie King Center since Dec. 7, 2024.
That was the night he limped from the court to the locker room after suffering an ankle sprain in a loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Ingram never put on a New Orleans Pelicans uniform again. He was traded two months later to the Toronto Raptors in exchange for Kelly Olynyk, Bruce Brown and a pair of draft picks.
Ingram will play a basketball game on the Smoothie King Center floor for the first time in 459 days Wednesday night when the Raptors (36-27) come to town to take on the Pelicans (21-45).
Ingram deserves a warm reception when he returns to the city he called home for 5½ seasons. There should be a video tribute during one of the timeouts to show just how much the city appreciates him.
He is one of the best players to ever play in New Orleans. When he was traded in February 2025, he was one of just five players in franchise history to rank in the top 10 in points, rebounds and assists. The others are Chris Paul, Anthony Davis, Jrue Holiday and David West. Zion Williamson since has moved into 10th place on the rebounding list, bumping Ingram out of the top 10 in that category.
Ingram's time with the Pelicans included the 2019-20 season when he was selected to the All-Star Game and also was named the league’s Most Improved Player.
“He shares a lot of relationships here, so it should be a fun game,” Pelicans interim coach James Borrego said. “I hope more than anything the city welcomes him back and embraces him. He gave a lot to this city. Blood, sweat and tears. He was a competitor.”
Ingram was a big reason the Pelicans pushed the top-seeded Phoenix Suns to six games in the first round of the playoffs in the 2021-22 season. He averaged 27 points, 6.2 rebounds and 6.2 assists in that series that had Pelicans fans thinking the franchise was heading in the right direction. Ingram, who made his second All-Star Game this season, is also a big reason the Raptors are fifth in the Eastern Conference standings after not making the playoffs last season.
His time in New Orleans wasn’t all highlights. There were some tough times, including a poor performance in the first-round playoff series in 2024 when the Pelicans were swept by the Thunder. And there were also the injuries that forced him to miss so many games. In fact, former Pelicans coach Willie Green never coached a single game with Ingram, Williamson and Dejounte Murray in the lineup together. But that shouldn’t take away from what he meant, especially to the locker room.
Borrego, who arrived in New Orleans as an assistant in 2023, grew close with Ingram during their time together.
“His professionalism and his work ethic were the two things that always stood out,” Borrego said. “You control your work. And B.I. brought it every day. Whether he was going through a great stretch or a poor stretch or the highs and lows, every day he showed up to work. I think that work ethic rubbed off on a lot of the guys. His work ethic was second to none.”
Trey Murphy was one of the guys aided by Ingram. Murphy was drafted by the Pelicans in 2021 as Ingram was entering his third season with the team.
“B.I. was the guy I looked at and said ‘OK, if I want to get to his level, I’ve got to work as hard as he does,’ ” Murphy said. “So that helped me work on my game a lot. I’m more efficient and tactical. Seeing him make All-Star this year, I was super happy for him. He’s a big brother to me so I’m happy to see him play again.”
While Murphy and Borrego want to see Ingram do well this season, Wednesday night’s game and the rematch in Toronto on March 27 are two times they hope he doesn't bring his A-game.
“(Wednesday), I don’t want to see any of those buckets going through the hoop,” Borrego said.
Any other time, they want to see Ingram doing what he does. Not just because of the player he is on the court but also for who he was in the locker room.
“He’s a fantastic human being,” Borrego said. “He’s about the right things. He taught me a lot about working. He had a great spirit about him. A work ethic about him. He brought a joy to the gym every single day. It was an honor to coach him. One of the special guys I got to be around.”
In Ingram’s first game in the Smoothie King in 14 months, Pelicans fans get their chance to show Ingram just how special he was to the city.