New Orleans Pelicans are an American professional basketball team. They play in New Orleans, Louisiana. They play their home games at the Smoothie King Center. The Pelicans are a part of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The team started playing in the NBA in 1988 as the Charlotte Hornets playing in Charlotte, North Carolina. They moved to New Orleans in 2002. During the 2005 - 2006 and 2006 - 2007 seasons, the team was moved to Oklahoma City because of the damage caused in New Orleans by Hurricane Katrina. During this time they were called the New Orleans / Oklahoma City Hornets. The team returned to New Orleans for the 2007-2008 season.