Pelicans star Zion Williamson, healthy but unfulfilled, forecasts ‘a different summer’

METAIRIE, La. (AP) — Zion Williamson, fed up with never having appeared in a playoff game during his first seven NBA seasons with New Orleans, is forecasting “a different summer.”

While gratified by how durable and available he was for the Pelicans this season, Williamson was not entirely pleased with his overall performance and bothered by the fact that the Pelicans won just 22 of the 62 games in which he played.

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“My play on the court — it was OK,” Williamson, who averaged 21 points per game, said Monday, the day after the Pelicans finished a second-straight, non-playoff season at 26-56. “I was efficient, but I don’t want to sit here and say it was OK and we’re not even in” the Western Conference play-in tournament.

“Individually, I have a lot to go work on,” Williamson continued. “I want to be able to attack from multiple areas on the court. I want to be able to be unpredictable on the offensive end, and I didn’t really do a good job of that this year. … I want to be able to do more for my team.”

Williamson, a powerful, explosive, 6-foot-6 forward who was drafted first overall out of Duke in 2019, set a personal record by appearing in 35 straight games this season. His total number of games played were the second-most in his career, behind only the 70 he played in the 2023-24 season. That was also the last time the Pelicans appeared in the NBA playoffs — but did so without Williamson, who injured his left hamstring in the waning minutes a play-in loss to the Los Angeles Lakers.

The only other time the 25-year-old Williamson played more than 30 games in a season was during 2020-21, when he played 61. Overall, he has missed 280 of 556 career regular season games because of knee, hand, foot and soft tissue injuries — most notably his hamstring.

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“What I’m most proud of is how fast I was able to bounce back from any injuries that I had this year,” said Williamson, who could have played in 65 games, but was rested for New Orleans’ final three, low-stakes contests.

Pelicans veteran guard Dejounte Murray applauded the steps Williamson has taken to improve his…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/pelicans-star-zion-williamson-healthy-231639651.html

Author : BRETT MARTEL

Publish date : 2026-04-13 23:16:00

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