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The New Orleans Pelicans announced star forward Zion Williamson will miss their opener Wednesday against the Chicago Bulls with an illness.
Head coach Willie Green said Tuesday that Williamson’s status would be a game-time decision after the illness had kept him out of practice.
The two-time All-Star was forced to exit the Pels’ loss to the Los Angeles Lakers in last year’s play-in tournament with a left hamstring strain. While it’s a little too reductive to say his injury altered the outcome of the game, New Orleans might’ve been able to come out on top if Williamson had played the final three minutes.
Los Angeles simply had no answer for the 6’6″ powerhouse, who finished with 40 points, 11 rebounds and five assists.
The hamstring injury was a microcosm of Williamson’s NBA career.
The 23-year-old was limited to 114 appearances through his first four seasons — missing the 2021-22 campaign altogether — and he finally seemed to be turning a corner health-wise. He logged 70 appearances in 2023-24, averaging 22.9 points, 5.8 rebounds and 5.0 assists.
Then Williamson delivered a performance against the Lakers that reminded fans why he was such a heavily hyped prospect coming out of college, only for a seemingly innocuous moment in the game to knock him out of action.
The Pelicans wound up advancing to the playoffs without Zion but got swept by the Oklahoma City Thunder in the first round. They’ll hope they can avoid a similar fate in 2024-25 because the offseason acquisition of Dejounte Murray pointed to their lofty ambitions.