“CJ McCollum told me we were gonna get to these playoffs”: Larry Nance Jr. reveals how the guard was confident of NOLA advancing to the 2022 postseason shortly after being acquired

Larry Nance Jr. discloses how CJ McCollum had faith in the New Orleans Pelicans to make the 2022 playoffs.

The New Orleans Pelicans weren’t even close to having the start of their dreams for this 2021-2022 season. Having already lost Lonzo Ball and Steven Adams, the team was also playing without the services of Zion Williamson, and Brandon Ingram for a short while, and had lost 12 of their first 13 clashes.

The addition of CJ McCollum has to be the best thing that has happened to the franchise throughout this campaign. Not only did the organization manage to acquire a talented combo-guard, in CJ, but they also added a respectable, veteran, and mentor-like figure to assist the youngsters on the squad.

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As soon as McCollum was acquired by the Pels, the team instantly started winning more games. NOLA finished the regular season with a 36-46 record (9^th seed in the West), won both their play-in games, and successfully clinched a playoff berth overcoming several odds.

“We gonna go to the playoffs”: CJ McCollum to Larry Nance Jr. when they were acquired by NOLA

Not many had faith in the Pels to advance to the playoffs mid-way into the season. However, the then-newly acquired CJ McCollum had the utmost confidence in his squad qualifying for the postseason.

In a recent appearance on McCollum’s “Pull Up Podcast”, Nance Jr. explained how CJ was the first one to actually have faith in his team to make the playoffs. The two discussed:

CJ: What did I say was going to happen when I got to New Orleans?

Larry: First things first, you said it’s going to be a great situation. You said there’s obviously all this young talent, and big fellas not even playing yet. Most importantly, he said ‘you know we are gonna get to these playoffs’.

CJ: And you looked at me like I was crazy… I said ‘we’re gonna go to the playoffs’ and you were like ‘I’m in Chicago to get surgery done’. I said ‘how long is the rehab?’ You were like ‘I don’t know 4-6 weeks’. And I was like ‘perfect, you’ll be back just in time for the playoffs’.

Larry: I will say it that you were the first to say, the day after we got traded, we gonna go to the playoffs. You said ‘I’m not here to play around’.

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Despite suffering a first-round exit in the playoffs, it was a pretty successful campaign for Willie Green’s boys. With Zion Williamson, hopefully, returning to the lineup led by CJ and BI, the Pels will be a team to reckon with in the upcoming season.