David Bridges
After missing a hefty chunk of his first few years in the NBA, any Zion Williamson injury will draw attention. The New Orleans Pelicans’ young star tweaked his ankle in a preseason game against the Miami Heat.
The injury was not severe and the Pelicans forward had jokes about it afterward. According to Andrew Lopez of ESPN, Williamson already knew how the internet would react. “Twitter already did its thing,” Williamson said. “They are the doctors apparently.”
Lopez said that Pelicans head coach Willie Green doesn’t expect his young star to miss significant time. Williamson echoed the same sentiments. “It was one of those things where it happened and I popped back up, like, ‘Yeah, I’m straight.’ Played a few minutes after that, it felt fine…We wanted to look at it, had a doc look at it, and he just said a little day-to-day soreness.”
After missing all of last season, Williamson has looked pretty solid in the Pelicans preseason. In 17.7 minutes per game, he has averaged 11.3 points, 4.0 rebounds and 2.8 assists while shooting 50.0 percent from the field. His explosives and mobility look promising after missing out on a year of basketball. Having such a deep supporting cast will help him ease back into the game.
Williamson could be in for a huge season with the Pelicans in the 2022-23 campaign. Although he is still going through an adjust period and has already been injured, he proved to be one of the very best players in the NBA when fully healthy.
Clara Hastings
Ivy Caldwell
