During his first four NBA seasons, Zion Williamson showed the world that he’s a unique talent, but he had lots of trouble staying healthy.
This season, however, he has played in 62 games so far and is starting to become the best version of himself.
Zach Lowe of ESPN said that Williamson is playing the best ball of his career, and it doesn’t necessarily have to do with his scoring — Lowe said Williamson’s defense and passing have greatly improved lately, via NBA on ESPN.
“It’s the best he’s ever played.” @ZachLowe_NBA on Zion Williamson’s current play 🙌 pic.twitter.com/J17YAVjYxv
— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) March 29, 2024
Williamson’s scoring is actually down a bit this year, but he’s averaging a career-high 5.0 assists a game this year.
In addition, he has upped his scoring output to 24.0 points a game since the start of February, and thus it isn’t much of a surprise that New Orleans has gone 18-7 during that time.
Williamson has always been injury-prone dating back to his lone season at Duke University, and in his first four pro seasons, he appeared in a total of just 114 games.
Many people criticized him as a result of being overweight and not being dedicated to his strength, conditioning, or overall fitness.
Right now, the Pelicans have risen to fifth place in the Western Conference with a 45-28 record, and they’re just half a game behind the fourth-seeded Los Angeles Clippers, which means they have a real shot a home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs.
It is too early to expect them to reach the NBA Finals, but it looks like they’re poised to win their second playoff series in the last 16 seasons.
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CJ McCollum Notes Major Change For Zion Williamson This Season