Zion Williamson is one of the best (and most popular) players in the NBA.
The former Duke superstar had a slow start to his career due to injuries, but he’s coming off a year in which he played 72 games (before getting hurt in the playoff tournament and missing the playoffs).
He finished the regular season averaging 22.9 points, 5.8 rebounds, 5.0 assists and 1.1 steals per game while shooting 57.0 percent from the field and 33.3 percent from three-point range.
Recently, ESPN’s Tim Bontemps made an intriguing comment about Williamson (via Brian Windhorst and the Hoop Collective).
Bontemps: “It’s also interesting that Zion played 70 games last year. He didn’t exactly make the All-Star team, he didn’t come close to making the All-NBA. It’s just interesting. If you had said a few years ago, well, if Zion plays 70 games, you would have thought he’d be in the mix for all of this. He’s in a pretty big moment right now.”
Williamson was the first overall pick in the 2019 NBA Draft after a legendary season with the Blue Devils.
He played 184 games in four seasons (and missed the entire 2021-22 season).
The two-time NBA All-Star has yet to appear in an NBA playoff game.
The Pelicans finished last season in eighth place in the Western Conference with a 49-33 record.
They defeated the Sacramento Kings in the playoff tournament, but were swept by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the Oklahoma City Thunder in the first round of the NBA playoffs.
