Zion Williamson showed up to New Orleans Pelicans camp this weekend, and everyone who saw him said the same thing. He looks completely different. The former No. 1 overall pick has spent the summer at a private training facility in Miami and reported at what sources describe as the best conditioning of his career.
Zion has famously struggled with weight and availability throughout his six NBA seasons. He has played more than 60 games only twice, and the Pelicans have been unable to build a consistent identity around a player they cannot count on being on the floor.
This summer was different. Zion worked with a private nutritionist, a physical therapist, and a strength coach for four full months. The player who showed up to New Orleans this week is reportedly down to a playing weight in the high 260s, the lightest he has been since his rookie year.
Head coach Willie Green said Zion looks fluid, quick, and dominant in early camp scrimmages. Green added that the Pelicans have no timeline concerns for opening night, which is a phrase Green has not used about Zion at any point in the last four seasons.
The context around this Pelicans team is fascinating. Trey Murphy III took a real leap last season. CJ McCollum is still a productive scorer. And rookie Cooper Flagg has looked like a legitimate franchise player through the summer league and preseason workouts. If Zion is available, this is a top-six team in the West.
The Pelicans front office has been quietly patient. General manager David Griffin resisted every trade offer for Zion this offseason, including a widely reported package from the Miami Heat that would have brought back Tyler Herro and multiple picks. Griffin has consistently said that the ceiling with Zion is too high to walk away from.
The market disagrees. Betting favorites for the Pelicans over-under sit at 40.5 wins, which speaks to how skeptical the wider basketball world is of Zion’s availability. If he plays 65 games, this team is going to blow past that number.
The stakes are real. Zion is entering the final guaranteed year of his contract before a team option kicks in for 2028. If he cannot stay on the floor this season, the Pelicans will finally be forced to make the trade decision that Griffin has resisted for two years.
Camp opens officially in late September, and the first preseason game is scheduled for early October. Everyone in New Orleans is holding their breath. If Zion can just stay healthy, the Pelicans are one of the most interesting teams in the West.
A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.
