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Writer's pictureWayne Gregoire

Zion Williamson Injury Is The Story Of His Career

Zion, Williamson, Injury, Pelicans, Duke, Stadium Rant

When the Duke Blue Devils opened their season against the University of Maine Black Bears, the biggest storyline from the evening was not the debut of Cooper Flagg, but Maine manager Simon Allen. Before the game, during shootaround, Allen likes to take jumpers with the team. The Cameron Crazies asked him for a few slam dunks, and Allen obliged, going viral for his throwdowns.


The most viral dunker of all time has to be a high school kid from Spartanburg, South Carolina. Like Flagg, Zion Williamson was the top rated high school player in the nation, a Duke commit, and the top NBA Draft pick after just one year in college. Before he was a Blue Devil though, Williamson's dunks filled up YouTube. He was the biggest high school celebrity basketball player since LeBron James.


Zion Williamson Injury History (Duke)

Zion was dominating as a freshman, averaging 22.6 points (on 68% shooting) and 8.9 rebounds per game, in 30 minutes per game. On February 20th, 2019, Zion suffered a knee sprain against North Carolina, due to a faulty Nike sneaker. The day after the game, Nike's stock lost $1.1 Billion.


Despite being held out of the last six regular season games, Zion won the ACC player of the year, rookie of the year, athlete of the year, and the National college basketball player of the year. He was a lock to be the number one pick in the 2019 NBA Draft.


Zion Williamson Injury History (NBA)

The New Orleans Pelicans won the draft lottery, and as the masses predicted, selected Williamson first overall. During the preseason, he tore his meniscus, and wasn't able to make his NBA debut until three months later. Despite only playing 24 games, he was all-Rookie first team, and third in rookie of the year voting. He averaged 22.5 points per game, on 58.3% shooting.


Zion played 61 games in his second season, and was selected to his first All-Star game. He had a streak of 25 consecutive games scoring 20 or more points, on 50% shooting or better, passing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Wilt Chamberlain, and tying Shaquille O'Neal. He finished the season averaging 27.0 points per game on 61.1% shooting.



During the offseason, Zion suffered a Jones fracture in his foot, and missed all of the 2021-22 season. Despite his lack of availability, the Pelicans rewarded him with a 5-year contract worth $193 million. Through the first 29 games of the 2022-23 season, Zion averaged 26.0 points per game on 60.8% shooting. On January 2nd, 2023, he suffered a hamstring injury that sidelined him the rest of the regular season.


Last year, Zion played in 70 games, and averaged 22.9 points per game. Six games into the 2023-24 season, he injured his hamstring again, and has been ruled out indefinitely.


Fingers Crossed for Zion

Williamson has been a fan favorite since his rookie season. There was skepticism about how he would fare at the pro level, since he's too heavy to be a guard and too short to be a forward. He has struggled with his weight, but worked hard over the past offseason to get back to his dominant self.


Other than Luka Doncic of the Mavericks, there might not be another player in the league who looks happier on the court than Zion. Fans love to watch him play, and root for his success. Wyatt Wilburt, the host of the SportsEthos New Orleans Pelicans Podcast believes the team is also a believer in Zion. "I think the Pelicans feel the same way, otherwise at this point, they likely would've parted ways," Wilburt said when reached for comment by Stadium Rant.


Wilburt also mentioned that the Zion Williamson injury history, could have been a motivating factor in their offseason moves.


"It's clear that his injuries are compounding (knee, now hamstring, ect) and having him available is simply a bonus for the Pelicans. I think that also partially explains the trade for Dejounte Murray. The goal being, to load up the roster with talent, so that it isn't reliant on Zion's availability."

There is no time table for his return, and it seems every other season he plays, ends prematurely due to injury. Nothing would make NBA fans happier, especially New Orleans fans, than seeing Zion play the rest of his career injury free. Even ESPN would love to get back to showing highlights of Zion catching alley-oops, or throwing down thunderous windmill dunks. All we can do is cross our fingers, and hope he doesn't end up the NBA's version of Bo Jackson. A shooting star that burned brightly, but burned out too soon.


You can listen to the SportsEthos New Orleans Pelicans podcast on iTunes and Spotify.




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