A skinny, mean guy Zion Williamson is coming to TV screens near you — a scary prospect for 29 NBA teams.
The Pelicans star recently held a basketball camp for kids in his home state of South Carolina, and observers said he looked in the best shape of his life.
According to Ian Casselberry of Yahoo SportsWilliamson told the media at camp that he plans to weigh 270 pounds in time for the upcoming NBA season. If Williamson stays true to his word, he will enter the 2024-25 season nearly 30 pounds lighter than he did last year.
A 272-pound Williamson attacking the basket should be an unstoppable force of nature, but more importantly, the drastic weight loss will help the Duke alum improve his fitness.
Over his five-year NBA career, Williamson has struggled to shine late in games due to apparent poor conditioning, which invariably leads to the Pelicans squandering their advantages or failing to remain competitive late in games. Additionally, Williamson’s defense, never his strong suit, suffers when he is fatigued, forcing Pelicans coach Willie Green to pull him out of games in crucial moments.
The wake-up call he needed?
The NBA media, and specifically ESPN analyst Stephen A Smith, may have inadvertently awakened a monster.
Smith made disparaging remarks about Williamson after the Pels were beaten by the Lakers in last season’s tournament game, saying that Williamson will “eat the table” and that chefs were lining up outside his house to satisfy his desires.
All this body shaming motivated Williamson to lose weight, a process that began in December 2023 and began to pay off by the end of the 2023-24 season.
“It was a really great moment for me,” Williamson told NOLA.com after the season. “I didn’t look at anyone else. I looked at myself. I take full responsibility for that. I wasn’t where I was supposed to be.”
Although Williamson didn’t end the season on a winning note – the Pelicans lost in the playoffs – he impressed many analysts with his 40 point exit which was interrupted by a hamstring injury.
Now Williamson can pick up the pieces and remind the world why he was the hottest NBA prospect since LeBron James when he went No. 1 overall to New Orleans in 2019. Since he’s part of the public consciousness for so longIt’s easy to forget that he’s only 24.
