Although it may be hard to believe, Wednesday marks the five-year anniversary since Zion Williamson made his debut with the New Orleans Pelicans.
One of the most hyped regular-season events in recent NBA history took place Jan. 22, 2020, with the league’s next young phenom, the No. 1 pick in the 2019 NBA Draft, set to play his first game as a pro following a three-month absence because of a torn right lateral meniscus.
Williamson finished with 22 points and seven rebounds in the Pelicans’ 121-117 loss to the San Antonio Spurs, but it was his shocking 17-point outburst in the fourth quarter that made the night so unforgettable.
Including that night, Williamson has missed 230 of the 424 regular-season games New Orleans has played since he came to town. Instead of providing more magical moments like he did that first night, the talk surrounding his career has mainly focused on the frustration and concern over his constant injury issues.
With Williamson’s incredible start to his career and the shocking turns it’s taken since, The Athletic’s Will Guillory and Christian Clark discussed their times covering Williamson as members of the New Orleans media. Guillory has covered the Pelicans at The Athletic since 2018. Clark covered Williamson’s first five seasons at NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune before joining The Athletic in December.
Guillory: I may be wrong, but I believe we sat next to each other in the media section during Zion’s debut in 2020. I know that’ll definitely go down as one of the craziest nights of my career. In the moment, it felt like a night that would go down in NBA history.
When you think of that night, what jumps to mind?
Clark: We did sit next to each other. There was so much media attention on the game. The Pelicans issued 130 single-game credentials, about 100 more than usual. ESPN was originally supposed to air Nuggets-Rockets, but they dumped it for Pelicans-Spurs when it was confirmed Zion would play.
I remember walking into the arena that night and seeing red T-shirts on every seat. I remember thinking that it was classic Gregg Popovich to send double-teams Zion’s way in his first NBA game. It felt like it was working. And then that fourth quarter happened. The four 3-pointers. The 17 straight points. The decision to sub Zion out, due to a minutes restriction, when he was incandescent. Alvin Gentry’s frustration postgame about decision makers above him making that call. All of that is still pretty fresh.
Guillory: There were so many cameras following him around the entire night. So many people talked to us about our expectations based on workouts. As a Pelicans media member, it was impossible to escape the frenzy around Zion — even among people who don’t care about sports that much. It felt like the entire world was watching.
That 17-point explosion in the fourth quarter was the on-court highlight. Until then, it was a pretty disappointing performance. Williamson had just five points through the first three quarters. He was on such a rigid minutes restriction that he struggled to find his rhythm. But once he started hitting those 3s, the building came to life.
Gentry would send someone to the scorer’s table to sub for Williamson, then he’d call him back after another Zion bucket. Once the fourth 3-pointer went in, I’m pretty sure I almost fell out of my chair. After all the anticipation, it felt like he was showing us — and himself — that he really did have something special. He looked like a superstar.
Now when we look back, it’s easy to see how that night gave us a glimpse into many of the fissures that have become bigger issues during Williamson’s six years in New Orleans. The struggle to overcome injuries. The debates over his minutes. The tension between Williamson’s camp and the medical staff. The disagreements between the coaching staff and the front office. All of it was there that night, but it was so easy to ignore because Williamson’s talent felt so transcendent.
Clark: It’s amazing how indicative that one game was of the next five years. Zion was supposed to be back on the court six to eight weeks after his torn meniscus. It took about 13 weeks for that to actually happen. When he finally played, he was fantastic. But his minutes restriction — what the Pelicans referred to as “burst limits” at the time — left everyone wanting more.
Later in Zion’s career, he began sending not-so-subtle signals about feeling physically ready to play while the Pelicans continued to sit him. Remember the video he released on social media in March 2022 of his dunk at the team’s practice facility, which preceded New Orleans’ first-round series against Phoenix? Remember him dunking in his on-court warmup in April 2023 before New Orleans’ Play-In game against Oklahoma City, a game that ended the Pelicans’ season?
I know Zion has made headlines recently for the wrong reasons. He was suspended one game for being late to a team flight. But am I right to think that things are actually moving in a positive direction with him?
Guillory: In the four games he’s played since coming back from his latest hamstring injury, Williamson has looked about as good as he has at any point in his career. He’s averaging 20.8 points, 8.5 rebounds and 5.5 assists in those four games, but those stats don’t tell the full story. He’s moving at a different speed. His activity is extremely high. He even dropped a 360 windmill dunk in his first game back against Minnesota a couple weeks ago.
Crucially, he looks like a complete player on both ends. He’s not just focused on scoring like he once was. His impact on the game has gone up a level, especially defensively.
But before we get to what’s going on today, let’s step back and take a big-picture look at the last six years. What has surprised you the most about the Zion experience?
Clark: I did not expect the sheer amount of drama.
Zion’s 33-game stint at Duke couldn’t have gone much better. He constantly referred to that Duke team as a “brotherhood.” He relished the camaraderie he developed with his college teammates.
At Duke, Zion and the support system around him made sure setbacks didn’t snowball into larger issues. There was speculation after he blew out his shoe and got hurt against North Carolina that he had played his last college game. Zion quieted that by returning in the ACC Tournament and scoring 29 points on 13-of-13 shooting against Syracuse.
“Some people thought I wasn’t going to return,” he told ESPN afterwards. “They weren’t smart. I love playing with Duke. I love my teammates.”
Maybe I was naive, but my impression of Zion at the time was that he was a Boy Scout who could do 360-degree windmills. Now, I think he is a showman. He loves to perform when the lights are bright, and he has good in-game competitiveness. It’s what happens when the games aren’t going on that has been the problem.
Guillory: I couldn’t agree more on the drama point. Even though he’s taken big steps to keep the public away from his personal life, so much of the conversation about his career has been about the people surrounding him and his relationships within the organization. I’m sure we both can agree that a lot of the reporting we’ve done throughout the years has been focused more on which voices truly have an influence on him and how much of the outside noise actually reflects the way he feels.
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It feels like the answers to those questions have evolved quite a bit over time. For me, I’d say the biggest surprise has to be that Zion is going to finish his sixth season in a few months, and he still hasn’t participated in the playoffs. As much dysfunction as there was within the Pelicans organization during his first few seasons, the front office deserves credit for the talent it has put around Williamson during his time in New Orleans.
Anthony Davis made it to the playoffs just twice during his time as a Pelican (with one series victory), but the talent around him was limited most of those seasons. During his best moment as a Pelican — the team’s first-round sweep of the Portland Trail Blazers in the 2018 playoffs — Davis was carrying a team that featured E’Twaun Moore, Darius Miller, Solomon Hill and Ian Clark in playoff games. DeMarcus Cousins and Jrue Holiday were his only teammates who ever sniffed All-Star consideration.
Think of the players the Pelicans have acquired since drafting Williamson in 2019. After drafting him, the Pelicans traded Davis for Brandon Ingram, Lonzo Ball and Josh Hart. They have drafted Trey Murphy, Herb Jones, Jordan Hawkins, Dyson Daniels and Yves Missi. They traded for CJ McCollum, Larry Nance Jr. and Jonas Valančiūnas. They found Jose Alvarado and Naji Marshall in undrafted free agency. They even added Dejounte Murray last summer without giving up anyone in their starting lineup.
This team has put more than enough talent around Zion for him to succeed. They’ve had one of the deepest rosters in the league the last few seasons. They just haven’t had Williamson’s star power to help put it all together on the playoff stage.
Williamson missed the playoffs in 2022 and 2024 with hamstring injuries. He played a big role in last year’s 49-win season, but his absence during the playoffs erased a lot of the goodwill he earned while playing a career-high 70 games in the regular season.
Coming into this season, the Pelicans may have been more talented top to bottom on paper than they’ve ever been in the Zion era. They’ve gotten off to a disastrous 12-32 start to the season, partially because of another extended injury absence by Williamson earlier this year.
It’s impossible to talk about Zion without getting into his lengthy injury history. He’s missed 240 games (excluding playoffs and Play-In games) in his career. But there is one question I know you and I have been asked a million times over the years, so I’ll ask it once more: How much of this is purely bad luck, and how much of it is him not doing enough to keep himself on the floor?
Clark: There is an undeniable physics problem. Zion has a 45-inch vertical, he changes direction like a running back, and he is built like a defensive lineman. To score, his only move is to basically physically overwhelm his opponent at the rim. He could make things easier by developing a midrange jumper like Giannis Antetokounmpo, but that’s a different discussion. The way he plays takes an incredibly physical toll on his body.
It’s obvious Zion has needed to do a better job of controlling what he can: showing up on time, getting proper sleep, eating healthy food, implementing a LeBron-like routine aimed at injury prevention. These are all basic boxes that need to be checked. My sense is that Zion is finally starting to see that he must do these things to give himself a chance to stay on the court more consistently. None of them guarantee that he’ll play 65-plus games every year, but the odds go up at least.
Guillory: It’s tough to say it was Zion’s fault when he broke his foot in 2021 or when he injured his hamstrings the past few years. With him, the injuries, in and of themselves, are rarely the issue. The length of his recoveries have caused the majority of the frustration.
The knee surgery in his rookie season kept him out about twice as long as expected. After breaking his foot during summer workouts in 2021, the team alluded to him potentially being ready at the start of the regular season. Instead, he missed the entire season. During the 2022-23 season, he strained his hamstring on Jan. 2 and missed the rest of the season.
There are risks that come with having such a large man move with the ferocity and speed he does every night, but he has to be more mindful about doing the small things to keep himself in shape and shorten these recovery periods. It seems he’s done that as of late, but as always, the key for him isn’t just getting on the court; it’s staying on the court.
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We’ve done a lot of looking back, so let’s look forward. This season is obviously a lost one for New Orleans after a disastrous 5-29 start. The team dealt with an absurd volume of injuries early in the year — and not just to Williamson. This has left them with a very uncertain future.
Considering everything he’s been through and how he looks now that he seems to have figured some things out, what’s your guess on how the Pels will proceed with the face of the franchise? Should they stick with him, or is it time to start considering life without Zion?
Clark: Zion has three more years left on his contract after this season. On paper, I love the basketball fit of Murray, Jones, Murphy and Zion. I would give it one more year with Williamson. If it’s still not working next season, the Pelicans can move him. It’s hard to imagine his value will be lower next year than it is now.
I think the Pelicans need to move on from Ingram, whether that’s at the trade deadline in February or this summer. Stylistically, I don’t think Ingram and Zion fit well together. I also don’t think the Pelicans should go through another season with two players making max salaries — or close to it — who have long histories of missing time.
There are a lot of questions that need to be answered in New Orleans before the start of next season. Will the Pelicans make a coaching change? And if they do, will executive vice president David Griffin be allowed to pick a fourth different coach? These are questions people who work in the NBA are asking. The answers to them could affect Zion’s future.
Guillory: I’d agree that you have to give Zion at least one more season, especially if he keeps playing the way he has in his last four games.
The 38 remaining games may not have much meaning in the playoff race, but this could be the most important four-month stretch of the Zion era. So much will be determined based on what happens during the last few months of this season. How is the Zion-Murray-Murphy trio working together? All of the questions you pose are good ones but are largely out of Williamson’s control.
Per usual, the roller coaster in New Orleans will probably take a few more crazy twists and turns over the next few months. This franchise doesn’t know any other way. The priority for the rest of the 2024-25 season has to be keeping Zion on the court and regaining some of the excitement the fan base felt on this day six years ago.
Williamson has a lot of work ahead of him to show fans around the league that he’s ready to do what it takes to fulfill his tremendous potential. But as we’ve seen, when he’s locked in, there aren’t too many people who can dominate a game quite like Williamson.
(Top photo: Chris Graythen / Getty Images)
