The New Orleans Pelicans have been without star forward Zion Williamson since he suffered a hamstring injury back in January. When healthy, Williamson is one of the more exciting players in basketball, and those in the NBA world are eager to see him return. Unfortunately, a new injury update on the 22-year-old power forward seems to pour cold water on any return happening this season.
On Friday, The Athletic’s Shams Charania reported that it was unlikely that Williamson would play in next week’s Play-In Tournament. Later Friday afternoon, the Pelicans officially ruled Williamson out for the Play-In Tournament, while his status remains in doubt for a potential playoff berth.
Pelicans general manager David Griffin addressed what has become a terrible situation for both the team and Williamson, while also discussing a potential timeline for his return.
“I think it’s a matter of all the objective metrics we can have on where he is at and how he feels lining up. And to this point they haven’t,” Griffin said via Andrew Lopez of ESPN.
Until Williamson meets that threshold, Williamson won’t be cleared for 5-on-5.
Griffin said that metrics are based on things they can measure in the weight room in terms of flexibility and court speed, according to Lopez. He also acknowledged that they will measure Williamson’s reaction to how he feels after each exercise.
“When he feels like him, he’ll tell us he’s ready for the next phase. And to this stage he hasn’t felt like that.”
When Williamson has been healthy, he’s been a force on the court for the Pelicans. We’ll have to see when the superstar is able to return, but missing games due to injury has become the norm for Williamson’s NBA career, despite him being just 22 years old.
About Sam Neumann
Since the beginning of 2023, Sam has been a staff writer for Awful Announcing and The Comeback. A 2021 graduate of Temple University, Sam is a Charlotte native, who currently calls Greenville, South Carolina his home. He also has a love/hate relationship with the New York Mets and Jets.