In the 2019 draft, Zion Williamson was the most coveted prospect in the NBA and was called the second coming of LeBron James. He was set to be the face of the league and a future NBA superstar. The New Orleans Pelicans celebrating after getting the No.1 overall pick was no surprise. Unfortunately, the reality is that Zion Williamson has missed more games than he has played in his career.
Zion Williamson is a force of nature on the basketball court. While he is only 6’4″, he is built like an Ox. Long-time Dallas Mavericks coach and current Indiana Pacers coach, Rick Carlisle once described Zion as a combination of Charles Barkley and Shaquille O’Neal because of how he dominated the paint. But while Zion has been a force of nature, the weight that he carried on him was a huge burden to his body.
As a result, Zion’s NBA career has been injury-plagued and he has not seen the court a lot. To his credit, every time he has shown up, he has performed at a high level. Before this season started, Zion Williamson was reported to have injured his foot during the offseason, before the NBA Summer League began. The injury was later confirmed to be a fractured fifth metatarsal in his right foot.
Following the injury, Zion underwent surgery for the foot. But due to poor conditioning and being overweight, it was reported that he had to have a second surgery as well according to Christian Clark of The Times-Picayune. While there is no confirmation on whether the surgery took place, Zion left New Orleans and began rehab away from the team.
It was reported by Shams Charania on March 5 that Williamson was going back with his team and is now cleared for basketball activities.
Pelicans’ Zion Williamson is returning to New Orleans after spending time in Portland for his foot rehab, sources tell me and @WillGuillory. Williamson is cleared to progress in basketball activities. Pelicans have won four straight games and are in playoff race.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) March 5, 2022
Zion was seen on the sidelines for the last few Pelicans games and there is hope that he could return to the court in a few weeks. “Zion continues to progress well anecdotally at least. “He feels very good,” General Manager David Griffin told reporters, “We hope that towards the end of next week or beginning of the following, we’ll have some imaging done and have a better update.”.
Coach Willie Green also spoke on Zion’s situation on the JJRedick podcast, The Old Man and the Three. He said that it is Zion who is the most frustrated with the situation. He also said that he has made the team understand that while they support Zion, they have to get the job without him.
