The New Orleans Pelicans are a talented basketball team in the NBA, as they have a solid group of talented young players that appear hungry and ready to take it to the next level.
Unfortunately, a healthy and motivated Zion Williamson may be the one thing the team is missing in order to make that jump from a playoff team to an NBA title contender.
Ever since the Pelicans drafted Williamson at No. 1 overall out of Duke University, the star forward has struggled to stay healthy while also seemingly dealing with weight issues that have held him back from returning to the floor and reaching his potential as one of the best players in the league.
Former NBA stars Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce dove into the topic of Williamson and the Pelicans on “KG Certified” recently, saying the following about what they believe is the issue for the 23-year-old, via SHOWTIME Basketball.
Big year ahead for Zion to prove the skeptics wrong. 🤫 pic.twitter.com/Cf91N6gZqT
— SHOWTIME Basketball (@shobasketball) August 15, 2023
Garnett appears to be convinced that it is a confidence issue, as he referred to when Williamson admitted at the end of last season that he might be dealing with some mental health issues holding him back from returning to the basketball floor.
Pierce believes availability is the problem for Williamson, as he thinks there’s no problem with the star forward once he’s actually on the basketball floor, with the Pelicans being one of the best teams in the Western Conference when their star is playing.
Honestly, it is likely a mixture of both things for Williamson, making it much more complicated in New Orleans.
It’ll be interesting to see how things pan out for Williamson during the 2023-24 and whether he can return to the floor while maintaining his health.
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