How New Orleans Pelicans star Zion Williamson has been preparing for his return from a season-long injury
HOURS BEFORE THE New Orleans Pelicans hosted the San Antonio Spurs in the NBA’s play-in tournament, Zion Williamson took the court with assistant coach Teresa Weatherspoon.
Williamson went through light shooting and dribbling drills but certainly saved the best for last.
Late in the workout, Williamson got the ball on the baseline with his eyes fixated on the rim. Two steps in, Williamson exploded and twisted in the air, the ball at his side. As he rotated around back to the rim, he unleashed a windmill jam.
That is where Williamson’s night ended. The fracture in his right foot that had cost him the entire regular season kept him on the sidelines as his team made an unexpected playoff appearance.
A team that started 3-16 found themselves as the No. 8 seed after defeating the Spurs and LA Clippers to earn a first-round matchup against the top-seeded Phoenix Suns.
As Brandon Ingram, CJ McCollum and Co. took the Suns to six games, Williamson cheered his team on in street clothes.
Though the season ended in a first-round exit, rookie head coach Willie Green’s team had plenty to celebrate. McCollum and Ingram looked like a pair of veterans poised to capitalize on the late-season momentum. A trio of rookies — Jose Alvarado, Trey Murphy III and Herbert Jones — took on significant playoff minutes.
But questions about Williamson’s future in New Orleans — he would become eligible to sign his rookie contract extension on July 1 — loomed large after a second lost season.
In his first three seasons, Williamson played in a total of 85 games — 24 as a rookie and 61 in his second season. He missed time during his first year with a torn meniscus but was relatively healthy in 2020-21, missing 11 games with two separate hand injuries.
“And obviously that conversation is going to be one that will be a challenge,” Pelicans executive vice president of basketball operations David Griffin told reporters on April 29 when asked about Williamson’s extension.
“When it’s time to have that, we’ll have it. And right now what we’re focused on is him being healthy, and kind of in elite condition to play basketball and we’ll start there.”
The talent was clearly there. The availability was not. Williamson and those around him set out this summer to make sure those concerns were going to become a thing of the past, while very publicly demonstrating the former No. 1 overall pick’s commitment to both the Pelicans organization and the city of New Orleans as a whole.
March 29, 2022: For the first time since returning from Portland to do his rehab, Williamson goes on the road with the Pelicans as he continues to work toward returning to play.
April 5, 2022: Speaking on The Jordy Culotta Show, Williamson’s stepfather Lee Anderson says he expects Williamson to play in the remaining weeks of the 2021-22 season. He adds, “If you were to ask Zion, I’m sure he would probably say the same thing.”
April 7, 2022: The Pelicans announce that Williamson has progressed to full-court 5-on-5 work. Green calls them “controlled scrimmages.”
April 13, 2022: Hours before tip at the Smoothie King Center, ESPN’s Cassidy Hubbarth records Williamson throwing down a 360 dunk. The Pelicans defeat San Antonio 113-103.