Zion Williamson has undergone a dramatic physical transformation in recent months.
On ESPN’s “Hoop Collective” podcast, NBA reporters Brian Windhorst and Andrew Lopez discussed how Williamson has taken his craft much more seriously since the Pelicans were gutted by the Lakers in the NBA In-Season Tournament Finals in Las Vegas in December , losing by 44 points.
“The Pelicans are playing very well, and people in New Orleans tell me that since December, when the in-season tournament was held, Zion Williamson has lost 25 pounds or more,” Windhorst said.
“His performance was excellent. He’s playing fewer minutes, and that helps too. But people tell me he lost 25 pounds. And I’m not talking about the past, where people said he added muscle and you were like, “Right?” »
“You can see it,” Lopez said.
“If you watch him during the tournament during the season and you watch him now, he looks completely different,” Windhorst continued. “Frankly, they were embarrassed in Las Vegas. It was really his first moment on stage for him. He had other games, like Christmas Day, opening nights, where he wasn’t available.
“It was his game and it was supposed to be his game…and it went completely wrong.” Since that moment – there was also a team meeting at that time – things have gone well for him, and looks like a completely different player.
Lopez added that he has also heard compliments from the Pelicans organization about Williamson’s “buy-in” and “transformation” to the best conditioning he has been in since entering the NBA.
“Physically, he looks different,” Lopez said.
At the time of the in-season tournament, Williamson was the subject of numerous digs in the media.
Stephen A. Smith said New Orleans chefs were trying to woo Williamson into their restaurants. because he would “eat the table” while Shaquille O’Neal used himself early in his NBA career as a reference that Williamson wasn’t taking his condition seriously enough.
The Pelicans are thriving, having won seven of their last eight games.
They are 41-26 this season and would be ranked fifth in the Western Conference if the playoffs started today.
