When Zion Williamson arrived at Pelicans media day last year, there wasn’t much optimism around the New Orleans star. He was recovering from foot surgery, and the timeline for his return was shady, at best. On top of that, he didn’t look ready for NBA action. He ended up missing the entire 2021-22 season.
Monday’s appearance at media day couldn’t have been more different.
Williamson showed up to the Smoothie King Center in what appeared to be the best shape of his NBA career. He was noticeably trimmer and looked stronger. Williamson’s trainer, Jasper Bibbs, had hyped up Zion’s physical transformation in a recent article with the The Athletic. And he wasn’t kidding: Zion looked great. He looked healthy. And most of all, he looked happy.
"I'm in the gym and something happens and I'm like 'Oh man, I can really do that! That's different!'" đ
Zion's been feeling good on the court lately
(via @PelicansNBA)pic.twitter.com/ShBqyRvxaP
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) September 26, 2022
Zion lookinâ healthy! We here pic.twitter.com/FIdK3dq5Ol
— Zion O. (@DukeNBA) September 26, 2022
Zion is so significantly thinner than last year at this time. Honestly kind blown a bit. This dude has done everything for said he was. Sođ damned đ Hypedđ. @PelicansNBA going to be a menace pic.twitter.com/TNKCAv9ubT
— Christopher Price (@topherp33) September 26, 2022
Just wow. The difference is undeniable.
In just three NBA seasons, Williamson had already missed 141 games. So, something needed to change to keep him on the floor. NBA fans were understandably thrilled and excited to see that Zion appeared ready for the upcoming season.