Zion Williamson, #1, New Orleans Pelicans, (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images)
Pelicans rookie Zion Williamson looks ready to get back to basketball.
Remember when we had concerns about Zion Williamson‘s weight? Throw those out the damn window. Williamson has since proven all of us wrong, slimming down from his previously-rumored 245-260 pound Duke days to what looks to be a looser, more agile dunking machine before the New Orleans Pelicans take on the role of underdog in the NBA restart in Orlando.
The 2019 No. 1 overall pick has delivered upon rookie expectations despite dealing with a lateral meniscus injury to start the season, making up significant ground on Ja Morant of the Memphis Grizzlies. With so much time off, it’d be easy for Williamson to perhaps slip up a bit in his first NBA season. Instead, he’s shown up to Orlando as ripped as ever.
Zion Williamson looks ripped at Pelicans practice.
The Pelicans, currently tied for 10th place in the Western Conference, enter the restart as underdogs despite Williamson’s efforts. The Pelicans are 3.5 games back of the No. 8 spot, but if they can cement themselves as ninth place, they’ll earn a play-in scenario, which will add even more intrigue if it’s a potential Morant-Williamson matchup. Zion looks prepared for that and more after three months away from the game he loves:
In just 19 games, the new NBA 2K21 cover athlete had been averaging 23.6 points and 6.8 rebounds per contest.
Zion was always going to have to trim down in his efforts to carve out a superstar role for himself in the modern NBA. Gone are the days of a big-bodied Charles Barkley types. Thankfully, his explosiveness and quick leaping ability transcend eras, overwhelming even the best athletes at the collegiate and professional levels.
Should Alvin Gentry be able to employ his services at a greater clip than the just-under 30 minutes per game we’d grown accustomed to, there’s no telling the kind of impact he can have against teams that, quite frankly, could be lacking in terms of physical fitness and adjusting to game action.