Zion Williamson injury update: Latest status of Pelicans forward revealed
Things might just get rougher for the New Orleans Pelicans as Zion Williamson is expected to be sidelined. The team shared Saturday on X (formerly Twitter) the two-time All-Star was diagnosed with a left hamstring strain which will cause him to miss some games.
Williamson has played only played in six of the Pelicans' ten games this season. He missed the season opener due to an illness but was back in the rotation for the team's next five games.
He then missed back-to-back games on Nov. 3 and 4 against the Atlanta Hawks and Portland Trail Blazers due to hamstring tightness.
The All-Star forward was back in the lineup against the Cleveland Cavaliers on Wednesday. However, he headed to the locker room during the second quarter but he did return in the second half.
Following the Cavs game, Williamson was once again sidelined against the Orlando Magic on Friday due to his hamstring injury.
Also read: “Is he gonna have a long career?” - NBA insider iffy on Zion Williamson’s career prospects, compares injury proneness to former MVP
What is the timeline for Williamson's return?
According to the report by the Pelicans, Williamson is expected to be out indefinitely. As such, there is no clear timeline for his return.
The team did not announce the exact severity of his injury yet which could be useful in gauging how long he'll be out. The team will be providing updates on his condition as the situation develops.
Williamson has had a history of dealing with various injuries which has limited him to only 190 games since he was drafted in 2019.
He only played 24 games in his rookie season due to a knee injury. In his second season, he only played in 61 games. He would go on to miss the 2021-22 campaign, his supposed third year in the league, after he suffered a foot injury. He returned for the 2022-23 season but only played in 29 of the team's first 37 games before missing the rest of the year.
Last season, Williamson played in a career-high 70 games. He put up 22.9 points, 5.8 rebounds, 5.0 assists and 1.1 steals while seeing an average of 31.5 minutes of action per game.
This year, Willamson has averaged 31.0 mpg through six games. He was averaging 22.7 ppg, 8.0 rpg, 5.3 apg and 1.2 blocks before the announcement that he was going to be sidelined indefinitely.
In Williamson's absence, Jeremiah Robinson-Earl, Javonte Green and could see an increase in usage and minutes.