Zion Williamson missed the New Orleans Pelicans' last five games due to a back issue, and unfortunately for the NOLA faithful, the forward will no longer be returning this season.
The Pelicans confirmed the development in an announcement on Monday, revealing that Williamson "will miss the remainder of the season" due to the back injury he sustained after a fall against the Minnesota Timberwolves on March 19.
"Williamson, who suffered a low back bone contusion as the result of a fall during the game on March 19 at Minnesota, will continue his recovery plan which includes rest and treatment," the Pelicans stated.
Williamson has only played in 30 games this season due to a variety of injuries, including a hamstring strain. It is now the third season in his career-excluding the 2021-22 campaign that he missed due to foot injury-that he has failed to play in at least half of the games.
When healthy, Williamson was a force in the NBA. In fact, this 2024-25, he averaged 24.6 points, 7.2 rebounds, 5.3 assists and 1.2 steals per game.
Making matters worse for the Pelicans, CJ McCollum has also been ruled out for the season due to his right foot bone contusion sustained during their March 23 game against the Detroit Pistons.
The New Orleans Pelicans announced today that CJ McCollum and Zion Williamson will miss the remainder of the 2024-25 season due to their respective injuries.
McCollum, who was diagnosed with a right foot bone contusion after sustaining the injury on March 23 at Detroit, will… pic.twitter.com/t6YhOF4NTX
— New Orleans Pelicans (@PelicansNBA) March 31, 2025
New Orleans is already out of playoff contention, so it's no surprise that the team announced the decision to let Zion Williamson and CJ McCollum sit out and let them focus solely on their recovery. Besides, there are only seven games left on the current season.
Still, it's a disappointing turn of events for the Pelicans and their fans, who had high hopes of a better year with a healthy Williamson and supporting cast around him.
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This story was originally published March 31, 2025 at 5:38 PM.