If not for LeBron James and Luka Dončić showcasing their individual brilliance and immediate chemistry, Zion Williamson would have commanded sole attention with his thundering dunks, crafty playmaking and aggressive defense.
If not for the New Orleans Pelicans' standing in the talent-rich Western Conference, Williamson's performance would have conveyed more big-picture implications about the team's ceiling.
For now, Williamson's 37 points, six assists and four rebounds in the Pelicans' 136-115 loss to the Lakers on Tuesday simply offered a snapshot of his potential.
*"*That's what he's capable of doing night in and night out when he's playing at his best," Pelicans coach Willie Green said. "Right now, he's playing some really good basketball."
The Pelicans selected Williamson No. 1 overall in the 2019 NBA Draft for that reason. Six years later, Williamson has sparked both intrigue and uncertainty about whether he can remain the best version of himself every night.
Through his first four NBA seasons, Williamson appeared in only 114 out of a possible 308 regular-season games amid various injuries. Williamson also has missed a combined 38 games in the 2024-25 campaign, which included 27 related to his strained left hamstring. In the 24 games he has played, however, the Pelicans noted Williamson has become the only NBA player this season to average at least 24 points on 54% shooting in under 30 minutes per game.
"I know who I am. I know what I can do," Williamson said. "I know it can be frustrating, especially for New Orleans fans, when I'm out. But for me, it's stay forward and trust who I am."
The Pelicans (17-45) have maintained trust in Williamson despite entering Thursday's game against the Houston Rockets (37-25) with the Western Conference's second-worst record.
Following the 2021-22 season, the Pelicans granted Williamson a five-year, $197 million extension. To minimize both roster construction and luxury tax penalties per second apron rules, New Orleans dealt veteran small forward Brandon Ingram to the Toronto Raptors before the trade deadline. The Pelicans expect to become a playoff contender next season with a core centered around Williamson, fourth-year guard Trey Murphy III and eight-year veteran guard Dejounte Murray.
Nonetheless, the Pelicans have established their boundaries with Williamson. Though Williamson remains under contract through the 2027-28 season, ESPN reported the Pelicans established that some of the financial terms depend on the amount of games that Williamson plays and whether he maintains the organization's unspecified desired weight.
The Pelicans also suspended Williamson for one game against the Philadelphia 76ers on Jan. 10 for arriving late to the team plane. In a team-released statement, Williamson said he took "full responsibility for this suspension" and apologized to Pelicans owner Gayle Benson, his coaches, teammates and fans. David Griffin, the team's executive vice president of basketball operations, said in the same statement that he felt "confident he will continue to evolve positively on and off the floor."
Since then, the Pelicans have raved about Williamson's work habits and production.
"He's extremely resilient, no matter what he goes through," Green said of Williamson. "I know it's tough dealing with some of the injuries here and there, but now we're seeing some of the results."
In the Pelicans' past 15 games, Williamson has averaged 26.5 points on 63.4% shooting along with 6.3 rebounds and 5.6 assists per contest. Williamson credited Daniel Bove, the Pelicans' director of performance & sports science, for overseeing what he called "smart, efficient work" to help him strengthen his hamstrings. Williamson said he has developed a more consistent routine with studying opponents' tendencies to help him determine when to attack the basket, shoot or pass. Williamson added that he watches his opponent's past three games ahead of any matchup.
"I felt like my mobility got better, which helps my defense," Williamson said. "When you're out, don't be stagnant. Watch as much film as I can and work on different parts of my game or just watching film on it. I'm always trying to stay active in some way."
That hasn't always been the case.
Williamson sat the first half of his rookie season (2019-20) while recovering from surgery to repair the lateral meniscus in his left knee. He then played in only 24 games with a limited workload. Williamson then missed all of his third season (2021-22) to recover from offseason surgery on his right foot. The Pelicans lost in the first round to Phoenix in six games without Williamson, sparking hope they could make a deep playoff push the following season with a healthy Williamson.
Not so. In the 2022-23 season, Williamson played in only 29 games before staying sidelined after Jan. 2 with an injured right hamstring. In the Pelicans' play-in game against the Lakers last season, Williamson appeared unstoppable with 40 points and 11 rebounds only to injure his left hamstring and miss the team's first-round playoff series loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Through it all, Williamson received varying degrees of criticism for his availability and work habits. Lakers coach JJ Redick, who played with Williamson in New Orleans during his first few seasons, critiqued him as an ESPN analyst for not being around the team enough during his season-long injury in the 2021-22 campaign. Since then, the Pelicans have mostly praised Williamson's attitude and intentions while still managing learning curves with improving his regimen.
"Dealing with as many injuries as he's had has been difficult. It says a lot that he's overcome them," Redick said. "He continues to try to get back out there on the court, and every time he does, we see the result of that. He plays at a high level whenever he's in the game."
He sure does. Despite his varying injuries, Williamson became the NBA's third-fastest active player to score 5,000 career points. It took him 203 games to achieve that feat. The Pelicans eagerly await how many more games it will take for Williamson to show he can stay durable.
"It's his commitment to making sure he does his part to be available," Green said. "When he is, you guys are seeing up close what he looks like when he's available. When he's working and when he's in top-level conditioning, he can step on the floor. He's arguably one of the best players in the league."
Mark Medina is an NBA contributor for Athlon Sports. Follow him onX,Blue Sky,Instagram,Facebook andThreads.
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This story was originally published March 6, 2025 at 5:46 AM.