Zion Williamson has played in less than half — 45% percent to be exact — of the Pelicans’ games since being selected No. 1 overall in the 2019 NBA Draft. Injuries have significantly limited Williamson from living up to the “generational talent” tag that was attached to him going back to his high school days. When he’s healthy, he looks every bit the franchise centerpiece that you wouldn’t dare part with, but the issue has been that he can never stay healthy enough over a sustained period of time for that to matter.
Some of the injuries have just been a byproduct of his stout frame mixed with his explosiveness, but a large portion of it also falls on Williamson’s shoulders. He’s been heavily criticized for his poor conditioning, which doesn’t help in trying to stay on the floor. But perhaps this is the season that changes. Williamson showed up to Media Day on Tuesday in the best shape we’ve seen him.
“I gotta give that praise to Daniel Bove, trainer with the [Pelicans],” Williamson said. “Last year, while I was rehabbing my hamstring, me and him sat down and we had a conversation. He was just like, ‘Z, we need to figure this out. When you come back from rehab, we want you to be better than before it happened. What are some things you like to do? How can we make the workouts in a way to where you’re having fun and you’re really enjoying it?’ And we came up with a plan, from boxing to working out on the football field a lot, to just different random workouts.
“During that time frame, last year, I really felt a shift in my body to where I would look at him and go, ‘Dude, it feels good to feel good,'” he continued. “I haven’t felt like this since college, high school. Just, where I can walk in the gym and I’m like, I feel good.”
It’s an eyebrow-raising transformation for Williamson, whose contract relies heavily upon his physical condition. When the Pelicans signed him to a max extension in 2022, it came with several clauses that, if triggered, would make the latter years of the extension non-guaranteed. He needed to miss fewer than 23 games during the 2022-23 season to avoid his 2025-26, 2026-27 and 2027-28 salaries becoming non-guaranteed. Williamson missed 53 games, and in order to get the full amount of his contract, he has to adhere to the following guidelines:
- 20% of his salary becomes guaranteed if he passes all six of weigh-in checkpoints
- 40% of salary becomes guaranteed if he plays in 41 or more games; another 20% is guaranteed if he plays in 51 or more games; and the last 20% is guaranteed if he plays in 61 or more games
If Williamson fails to reach those benchmarks, the Pelicans can waive him with no financial ramifications. Basically, Williamson’s literally playing to earn his salary for next season. From the looks of Media Day, it appears as though he’s never been in better shape than now to do so, but showing up to training camp slimmed down doesn’t mean anything if he can’t stay healthy.
Before sustaining yet another injury at the end of last season, Williamson showed flashes of the All-Star version of himself, but he’ll need to show more than just flashes if he wants to see the entirety of his contract going forward. He’s going on Year 7 in the NBA, and while there have been small rumblings in the past about the Pelicans considering a trade, they’ve largely remained committed to having the Duke product as their centerpiece.
Now that his next two seasons are non-guaranteed, however, it gives the Pelicans a ton of power over Williamson’s future with the team. Williamson looks the part of someone who is taking his physical fitness seriously, but he’ll still need to prove that he’s worth all the money for which New Orleans could potentially be on the hook. If he has another injury-laden season, or if his conditioning falls to the wayside, it would not be surprising to see New Orleans at least consider the thought of waiving him next summer if those checkpoints aren’t met.