Zion Williamson

New Orleans Pelicans forward Zion Williamson is sidelined once again, as he will miss Tuesday's game against the Memphis Grizzlies because of a right foot contusion. Head coach Willie Green told reporters that Williamson is considered day-to-day.

The 22-year-old missed two games with a hip injury before returning to the lineup against the Los Angeles Clippers on Oct. 30.

Williamson missed the entire 2021-22 season because of foot surgery and complications during his recovery. It continued the theme of his young NBA career, as he was limited to 24 games as a rookie and played just 61 games in his second year.

When he's healthy, the Duke alum has been a force for the Pelicans. He shot 61.1 percent from the field in 2020-21 and averaged 27.0 points, 7.2 rebounds and 3.7 assists to earn his first selection to the All-Star Game. Through 11 games this season, he's shooting 56.6 percent with averages of 23.5 points, 6.4 rebounds and 3.9 assists.

New Orleans has grown accustomed to his absence, though, and it is more equipped to be successful without him on the floor this season. Veteran shooting guard C.J. McCollum, who was acquired from the Portland Trail Blazers midway through last season, has emerged as the Pels' most dependable player.

With Williamson unavailable, second-year forward Naji Marshall is likely to be inserted into the starting lineup.

Throughout his NBA career, New Orleans Pelicans star Zion Williamson has been criticized for his weight, and the 22-year-old discussed last week how he has been affected by it.

Williamson told Melissa Rohlin of Fox Sports that not enough consideration was given to the fact that he was recovering from foot surgery, which caused him to miss the 2021-22 season.

"That's nasty because with a lower-body injury, that dictates how you walk, that dictates how you run, how you do everyday activities and how you move," Williamson said. "For the world to critique me like that and all I was trying to do was make sure my foot was straight? It was a lot. I'm not going to lie to you—it was a lot."

Williamson also said he doesn't think the critics considered how their words could affect him.

"What people don't understand is, even the writers and stuff, if they have children of their own, imagine if somebody talked about their child how they spoke about me," he said. "Critiquing my body, critiquing how I look. Every time they talked about me, it was about weight, how bad I looked. I don't even think they realized what kind of impact that can have on you."

A 6'6" power forward with one of the most unique skill sets in the league, Williamson is listed at 284 pounds. When he was recovering from surgery, his weight ballooned after a regression in the bone healing forced him to discontinue his rehabilitation.

Many speculated the Duke product had a poor work ethic. The talk surrounding Williamson became so bad that even his mother and stepfather began questioning his routine.

"I was like: 'Y'all relax. Hearing it from y'all doesn't help me, and it makes it worse for me as a matter of fact,'" Williamson said. "So, when I broke it down like that, they understood. Once my foot heals, I'll get back on track."

To prepare for his return, Williamson trained with sports medicine and performance specialist Jasper Bibbs. He also hired a personal chef, Jhonas Lewis, to make all his food from July through September.

"I don't know if I'm supposed to say the number, but I will say this: [He lost] well over 35 pounds, for sure," Lewis said. "We were dropping almost 7-9 pounds a week. By the third week, he started seeing the results. You couldn't pay Zion to put his shirt on."

Williamson leads the Pelicans (5-4) with 22.7 points per game in seven appearances this season, as he sat out two games with a hip injury. He's expected to be in the lineup when New Orleans visits the Indiana Pacers (4-5) on Monday night.

Zion Williamson is averaging a solid 22.7 points per game this season, all after missing the 2021-22 campaign, but he's doing it entirely at the basket.

According to The Ringer's Kevin O'Connor, Williamson hasn't attempted a shot further than eight feet from the rim. But for now, the young superstar is hesitant to mess with a good thing.

"It's a mental thing for me," Williamson told O'Connor about his reluctance to shoot from the perimeter. "I can shoot the faders; I can shoot the middies; I can shoot the threes. But in the game, I'm such a perfectionist. I'm so locked in that mindset that the best shot is the closest shot to the basket. I feel like when I get to the basket at will, if it ain't broke, don't fix it."

It isn't "broke," but it isn't ideal, either. The Pelicans are 5-4, and Williamson extending his range would make him even harder to defend. He's proved he can do it in the past, shooting 42.9 percent from three as a rookie, though that nosedived to 29.4 percent in his sophomore campaign.

This isn't a Ben Simmons situation for New Orleans—Williamson still aggressively attacks the basket, attempting 18 shots per game—but it will be a limitation to his game if he doesn't push past his current mental block.

"[Assistant coach Teresa Weatherspoon and player development coach Corey Brewer] help me break that mental block," he told O'Connor about working with the pair on his shooting during practices. "It's just a matter of shooting it and being OK with it if I miss it."

New Orleans Pelicans star Zion Williamson is expected to return to the lineup Sunday against the Los Angeles Clippers after missing the last two games with a hip injury, per ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.

Williamson experienced a hard fall to the court in New Orleans' 122-121 overtime defeat to the Utah Jazz on Oct. 23. Jordan Clarkson blocked his dunk attempt, and he wound up landing on his back.

The Pelicans announced he suffered a posterior hip contusion, which was serious enough to knock him out of their next two games.

After missing the entire 2021-22 season, the 22-year-old didn't take long to remind fans why he's such a heavily hyped talent. He posted 25 points, nine rebounds, three assists and four steals in a 130-108 victory over the Brooklyn Nets to open the campaign.

Williamson is critical to New Orleans' hopes of not just returning to the playoffs but also improving upon its first-round exit from last season. His long-term importance to the franchise also requires carefully managing his workload in the short term given how much time he has missed because of injuries.

Missing Williamson for a game or two every once in a while shouldn't be a big blow for the Pelicans as long as those absences don't begin to add up.

Zion Williams remains a game-time decision for Friday night's matchup with the Phoenix Suns as he recovers from a right posterior hip issue and a lower back contusion, according to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski:

"I'm feeling better. That was a hard fall. I've taken a lot of falls, but damn," Williamson told reporters on Thursday regarding a hard fall he took during a Sunday loss against the Utah Jazz. "But I'm feeling a lot better each day. Just got some ones in with [Pelicans assistant coach Corey Brewer]. Feel great. Just me and the team will talk about further progression."

Williamson, who said he lost his balance in the collision with Jordan Clarkson, initially downplayed the fall before realizing it was going to impact his play.

"At first I was just like, damn, that kind of hurt," Williamson said. "But I stood up and I was like, 'All right, I'm gonna be straight.' But then I tried to make a quick move and I was like, 'Nah, I need to go chill.'"

The Pelicans held Williamson out of Tuesday's 113-111 victory over the Dallas Mavericks, a game that Herb Jones and Brandon Ingram also missed. The 3-1 Pelicans have dealt with a number of injuries to start the season, but they have gotten off to a strong start nonetheless.

Ditto for Williamson. After missing the entire 2021-22 season, he's responded by averaging 22 points, 6.7 rebounds, 2.3 assists and two steals per game while shooting 49.1 percent from the field.

The new-look Williamson, who came into this season appearing to be in the best shape of his career, hasn't missed a beat. Any injuries are going to be of particular interest and concern, however, given his issues staying healthy throughout his young NBA career.

So if the Pelicans hold Williamson out of Friday's game for precautionary reasons and he next sees the court on Sunday against the Los Angeles Clippers, it will be hard to fault the team for taking the careful approach.

New Orleans Pelicans head coach Willie Green said star forward Zion Williamson "didn't miss a beat" in his first regular-season game since May 2021.

Williamson, who missed the entire 2021-22 campaign while recovering from a foot injury, recorded 25 points, nine rebounds, four steals and three assists in the Pelicans' 130-108 victory over the Brooklyn Nets on Wednesday night.

"It's a lot of room for improvement," Williamson told reporters. "I'm still learning my teammates. Now we get real in-game reps. I'm just excited to grow."

While it was only the first step of an 82-game marathon, there were a lot of promising signs for New Orleans in the season opener.

Along with Williamson's standout performance, fellow starters Brandon Ingram (25 points), CJ McCollum (21) and Jonas Valančiūnas (15) also had strong outings offensively, while Herbert Jones had his usual across-the-board impact, including a highlight-reel block on Kevin Durant.

The Pels' also received 35 points off the bench, led by Trey Murphy III with 16. So Green couldn't have asked for a much better all-around start to the new season.

"When you have smart players and talent out there, it's easier to go out there and just play the game," Ingram said. "It was good to see a lot of one-on-ones that they couldn't be in a lot of help on the defensive end where we had shooters and we had different guys that can make players on the basketball floor."

As for Williamson, he played 30 minutes and showed no signs of any physical restriction in his first competitive game in 17 months. The talent that made him one of the most hyped draft prospects in recent memory three years ago was still on full display.

The 22-year-old Duke product is confident the best is yet to come once he shakes off some rust.

"Yeah, there are some shots where I'm like, 'Well that's good' and when it rolls out I'm like, 'No way.' But my teammates are there for me," Williamson said. "They just tell me to stay aggressive, keep attacking and just be myself. So I mean, they're in my corner so my confidence is going to stay high."

New Orleans entered the season as a sleeper in the championship conversation. It needs several things to fall into place to compete with the NBA's elite, starting with a healthy year from Williamson, but the talent is there to make some serious noise.

The Pelicans will look to keep the good vibes rolling Friday night when they visit the Spectrum Center to take on the Charlotte Hornets.

New Orleans Pelicans star Zion Williamson is certain he'll be active for his team's season-opener against the Brooklyn Nets.

"I'm playing Wednesday," he said Monday, per Marc Stein.

Pelicans coach Willie Green said Williamson was able to complete a full practice on Monday.

The update comes after he left last week's preseason game with left ankle soreness. He returned for the second half and sat out the final preseason game against the Atlanta Hawks.

Any injury is a concern for Williamson, who missed all of 2021-22 with a foot injury. The 2019 No. 1 overall draft pick has played just 85 total games across three seasons in the NBA.

New Orleans will be even more cautious after signing the forward to a five-year, $193 million extension that could be worth up to $231 million.

Williamson has been a difference-maker when on the court, averaging 27.0 points, 7.2 rebounds and 3.7 assists per game in 2020-21. He made 61.1 percent of his field-goal attempts and earned an All-Star selection during his lone season playing at least 25 games.

After missing all last season, the former Duke star flashed his ability this preseason:

Williamson scored 13 points in 15 minutes during his first preseason game against the Chicago Bulls, providing a taste of what he can do if he can stay healthy.

The Pelicans earned the eighth seed without Williamson in 2021-22 with Brandon Ingram and CJ McCollum emerging as go-to options. Now back to full strength in 2022-23, the squad has a chance to be a legitimate contender in the Western Conference.