New Orleans rookie Zylan Cheatham took an unconventional route to the NBA, going undrafted in 2019, one of four players on the Pelicans’ 17-man roster who were not picked (the others are Kenrich Williams in ’18, international veteran Nicolo Melli and Cheatham’s fellow two-way contract player, Josh Gray). The 24-year-old Arizona native has gotten a chance this season to see a bit more of the Gulf Coast in New Orleans and the Northeast while with Erie in the G League, after growing up near the West Coast, then playing college basketball at schools in the Mountain West and Pac-12, respectively.
Off the Court: Pelicans forward Zylan Cheatham
