The Pelicans don’t want to risk the health the first overall pick.
Zion Williamson got to make his Summer League debut on Friday night against the New York Knicks. The first overall pick made some impressive dunks, including a steal on Kevin Knox. Despite these great plays, the Pelicans were -15 with Zion on the court and at times, he seemed to struggle on defense. In the second quarter, Zion had a knee on knee collision with a player on the Knicks and ended up sitting out the rest the game. It was later revealed that he wouldn’t be playing any more Summer League games as the team wanted to make sure his health was up to par.
Last night, the Pelicans played the Chicago Bulls and won the game 109-72. Williamson was on the sideline cheering on his team and even got to speak about how he’s feeling after the injury.
“It was more precautionary,” Williamson told ESPN about his absence. “I’m a competitor. Whenever I can play, I just want to play.”
Some people have criticized Williamson for coming into the Summer out shape as he currently weighs 284 pounds. Zion doesn’t want to get too specific on what his goals are but he is in the midst trying to get back into the proper game shape.
“I’ll let the trainers help me with that,” he explained.
With Williamson out Summer League, the next time we will see him on the court is in preseason NBA action.