The New Orleans Pelicans finally got some solid news about their star player, Zion Williamson, today.
Unfortunately, it wasn’t the news they were hoping for.
A tough break for Zion Williamson and the Pelicans 😔 pic.twitter.com/c5HMxPnOEB
— Pelicans Nation (@PelsNationCP) March 21, 2022
It was revealed that Williamson will not play at all this season as he continues to recover from foot surgery.
The Pels big man hasn’t played a single game this year as his rehabilitation has taken far longer than expected.
Not many people expected Williamson to actually come back this year – too much time without any progress has passed.
Still, the news is a huge bummer for fans of the Pelicans – and fans of good NBA basketball too.
Worry & Anger
The NBA world promptly and strongly reacted to the news about Williamson.
Some people pointed out the fact that Williamson has only participated in 85 regular season games out of a combined 235.
That’s an average of just 36.2%.
Zion Williamson has played in 85 regular season games out of a combined 235 games to this point (36.2%)
Williamson has had multiple knee injuries, a finger injury, and this foot injury that will now keep him out for the year.
Not good, I'm worried about him.#NBA | #Pelicans https://t.co/LuS5447Yuu
— Brandon Carr (@bcarr_13) March 21, 2022
Those are some worrying numbers.
However, Williamson is still quite young and has plenty of time to turn his career around and continue to dominate the league as he did when he was healthy.
But he will have to overcome a lot of anger and frustration leveled his way from fans of New Orleans.
One Twitter user showed just how maddening it is to see such a young talent kept off the floor.
How many seasons does Zion Williamson need to recover & return from foot surgery?!
— Stefan Schröder (@RealStefanS) March 21, 2022
Others have lost all hope in Williamson and are starting to question if he will ever be a legitimate NBA talent for the long term.
So when we allowed to call Zion Williamson a bust? #NBA #Zion
— nbanewnews (@nbanewnews21) March 21, 2022
This has led some to wonder if Williamson will be like a modern-day Greg Oden, the former NBA star who was never able to forge a career because of repeated injuries.
Zion Williamson is working his way towards Greg Oden territory https://t.co/ziFkQ6uAcw
— Kyle Nap (@KyleNaps) March 21, 2022
Today’s news has brought out a lot of intense emotion among New Orleans fans but all of that can be erased next year if Williamson returns in fine form.
NEXT: Pelicans Get A Definitive Update On Zion Williamson
