The image encapsulated the emotion.

You’ve seen the clip by now.

Dozens of New Orleans Pelicans sales representatives quietly camped together in a conference room, before simultaneously erupting with joy. The high-fives, hallelujahs and hysteria all coalesced when the NBA’s Draft Lottery reached its conclusion, and the celebration enraptured social media.

Looking back, they had every reason to rejoice.

Riding the momentum of that moment and a wave of optimism in its wake, the New Orleans Pelicans have sold more than 12,000 season-ticket equivalents for the 2019-20 season. It’s the most the franchise has sold in more than a decade, placing New Orleans among the top half of the NBA in terms of total sales.

“It’s phenomenal,” Bryan Ross, Pelicans’ VP of Sales and Service told The Times Picayune | New Orleans Advocate. “The excitement and interest in the city is more so than we’ve experienced here in a very long time. We feel really good about our ability to sell out a lot of these games.”

Zion Williamson provided the jolt.

A few months ago all of this seemed impossible. Coming off a demoralizing 33-49 season, headlined by Anthony Davis’ dispiriting midseason trade request, the Pelicans were arguably the league’s most unlikely candidates to experience a ticket sales surge.

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In fact, the franchise was already in the midst of pivoting its marketing toward group events and limiting tickets to brokers in hopes of shoring up the value on the secondary market.

Then, lightning struck.

On lottery night, the sales staff worked the phones until 1 a.m., happily handling a flood of orders. A few weeks later, Fulton Square was filled to see Williamson officially wear a Pelicans hat and declare “Let’s Dance,” lighting up the phones once again.

By the time executive VP David Griffin executed the Davis trade to net a pair of first-round picks in addition to Brandon Ingram, Lonzo Ball and Josh Hart — or signed JJ Redick and Derrick Favors in free agency — the Pelicans’ staff was selling under a frenzy of optimism.

+2 Kushner: Authenticity of Pelicans' rookie tour important to scorned fanbase Take a minute to scan the sidelines before a football game in South Louisiana. There are three recognizable faces you’re likely to find.

So, here they are.

All courtside seats are purchased. The lower bowl is 95% sold.

And the ultimate sign? The Pelicans are expecting a sellout for their lone preseason game in the Smoothie King Center on October 11 and are even prioritizing seats for the team’s intrasquad practice on October 5.

“What’s so unique is the level of interest that’s coming to us,” Ross said. “We are used to going and talking to the buyer that’s coming to a game or two, but all of a sudden it switched. And we are like, ‘Woah, we’ve got to contact these people right away.’ So, that’s a great problem to have.”

Zion didn’t cure all, though. Challenges still exist.

Too often the Pelicans have struggled to get ticket-holders into the building, especially for unattractive opponents or inconvenient weeknight games. And the secondary market, which has undercut ticket prices for many years when the team languished, is still an unknown for many fans who are concerned about making an advance purchase.

However, Ross says they’ve chopped down on the amount of tickets in the hands of outside brokers and believes the secondary market value will increase due to the lack of inventory available.

“The nice thing about what’s happened, is that while we’ve sold a lot of full season tickets, but what we’ve done really well in right now is the partial season ticket packages,” Ross said. “In the past we’ve sold some 12 game packs where one sells well, but the other two don’t sell as well. But, we have been able to sell those evenly throughout and that puts different people in there for smaller commitments of games and usually encourages people to use their tickets.”

The grind of a 41-game home slate is rife with difficulties and obstacles. And considering the pressure on Williamson’s shoulders, it will be demanding to meet expectations for all of those who’ve made purchases hoping to see the rise of an Instagram-fueled phenom.

But, regardless of how the season unfolds, this summer allowed the Pelicans to get a clear look at what’s possible. Ross said many of the ticket-buyers are new to the franchise, approaching the team without a single record to their name, a concept nearly unthinkable in the midst of Davis morass earlier this year.

The image of the celebrating salesmen shows precisely when the tipping point occurred, and in hindsight those wide smiles have been justified.

“We weren’t expecting it,” Ross said. “But we were ready for it if it happened. And, here we are. It’s really been a great thing for everyone.”