The Warriors, having secured 66 wins in the regular season and clinched the league's top spot, face the newly renamed New Orleans Pelicans, who abandoned the Hornets' history, in the first round of this year's playoffs.
This is an intriguing development in the long history of the NBA.
What's intriguing about it?
It's intriguing because after the Pelicans gave up on the Hornets' history, the Charlotte Hornets, renamed from the Bobcats, not only inherited the old Hornets' history as desired but also suddenly became a team with legacy, despite having joined the league only in 2004.
In contrast, the Pelicans effectively became a new team in the NBA.
This season, the Pelicans had multiple reasons for abandoning the Hornets' history.
Some say the Benson couple were eager to rebuild the team culture in New Orleans.
Others say that after moving from Charlotte, the Pelicans always wanted to return everything that originally belonged to Charlotte.
