Three years into his NBA journey, former Nebraska Cornhusker Bryce McGowens may have finally landed in the right place — and New Orleans is quietly banking on it.
The Pelicans are entering the 2026–27 season with understated optimism around the 22-year-old shooting guard, according to Sports Illustrated. McGowens, who was drafted out of Nebraska in 2022 and has bounced between rotations in Charlotte and beyond, appears to have clicked in New Orleans in a way that earlier stops never quite allowed.
The buzz around McGowens isn't loud — it's the kind of controlled, front-office confidence that tends to mean something. When an organization is genuinely excited about a player heading into a season, it usually shows up in quiet ways first: practice reports, expanded roles in summer sessions, internal conversations that leak just enough to register. For McGowens, those signals are pointing up.
At Nebraska, McGowens was always the kind of player whose ceiling felt bigger than his circumstances. He averaged 13.9 points per game in his lone season with the Huskers before declaring for the draft, flashing the length, athleticism, and off-the-bounce scoring ability that made him a second-round target. The raw tools were never in question. The development path was.
The Pelicans — an organization that has had its own share of roster turbulence in recent seasons — could represent the stable environment McGowens needs to take the next step. A defined role, a coaching staff invested in his growth, and a team building toward something: that combination has unlocked late-bloomer stories before in this league.
Nebraska's NBA contingent is worth watching broadly this fall. Dalano Banton is in Boston with the Celtics, where depth-piece opportunities on a contender can either sharpen a player or keep him buried. Jack McVeigh is with Houston, a Rockets team in the middle of its own young-core build that theoretically leaves room for contributors to carve out minutes. Isaiah Roby is on the Knicks' roster as New York continues to retool around its core.
But McGowens is the name to track out of Lincoln right now. If the Pelicans' quiet optimism is earned — and the early indications suggest it is — Cornhusker fans may finally get to watch one of their own settle into a legitimate NBA role. The preseason will tell a lot. Keep an eye on New Orleans.
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