![]() And we’re very optimistic about what that looks like,” Pelicans executive vice president of basketball operations David Griffin said at the time. “His timeline should get him back on the court in time for the regular season. The day before training camp started for the 2021-22 season, the Pelicans announced that Williamson underwent surgery to repair a fractured right foot over the summer. Then, the injury bug came back to bite him again. There was optimism within the organization that Williamson had put his knee issues behind him and was on the path to becoming one of the most dominant players in the league. Though the Pelicans fell short of their goals as a team, Williamson met most of his individual expectations with a historically great 2020-21 offensive season while only sitting 11 games - 10 due to injury, one due to COVID-19 protocols. Nevertheless, the hype was through the roof for Williamson and the Pelicans as he entered his second season. Williamson didn’t appear in three of the team’s final four games once it was clear the Pels were out of contention. The Pels put together some of their most lackluster performances of the season, failing to reach the inaugural Play-In Tournament - a new concept many speculated was created in part to get the Pelicans into the postseason so the league could capitalize on Williamson’s popularity. ![]() He exited the bubble before the actual games started due to what the team referred to as a “family medical matter.” Once he returned, the team put him on a strict minutes restriction. That injury forced him to sit for 44 games before he made his debut in what became one of the wildest performances of his career so far.Īfter his rookie season was abruptly cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic shutdown, Williamson’s experience in the NBA bubble was short-lived. The health ailments began with a torn lateral meniscus in his right knee just before the start of his rookie campaign. That’s an incredible amount of time missed for someone who is still only 22 years old. After his 23-point, 8-rebound, 8-assist night against Oklahoma City, Williamson has appeared in 100 of a possible 245 regular-season games to start his career. What’s kept him off the court?Īs much fun as it’s been witnessing some of the superhuman things Zion has accomplished, the amount of time he’s spent away from the game has stood out most during his first four years. Let’s look back at what it took for Zion to make it here. During that time, Williamson’s experienced some of the highest highs imaginable for a player his age, and his lows have been about as low as it gets during that period. 100 has been long and treacherous for the Pelicans star. ![]() Including playoffs, Boston’s Jayson Tatum played in 99 games during his first full season with the Boston Celtics.īut it’s been 1,258 days since the Pelicans drafted Williamson. Making it to 100 games is hardly a big deal for most of the top-tier talents around the league. So for me to finally hit 100 games, I didn’t even think about it, but that is a huge milestone.” It helped me realize a lot mentally, spiritually, and just growing as a man. But at the end of the day, I’m still grateful that I went through that. ![]() “Would I have liked the journey to go like that? Absolutely not. “It’s been a long journey,” Williamson said after the game. Either way, Williamson reached a milestone in Monday’s 105-101 Pelicans win over the Oklahoma City Thunder that’s been nearly four years in the making: his 100th career regular-season game.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |