The New Orleans Pelicans’ season may be cooked, but things at least appear to be trending in the right direction with Zion Williamson.
Michael C. Wright of ESPN reported this week that the Pelicans star forward Williamson has now dropped down to a weight of 264 pounds. Wright notes that 264 marks the lightest that Williamson has ever been in his NBA career.
Williamson, 24, missed significant time earlier this year due to a hamstring injury but returned to the lineup in January and is averaging 25.3 points, 7.2 rebounds, and 4.6 assists per game since then. While Williamson still is not playing in back-to-back games, he definitely looks spry right now and may have the weight loss to thank.
At 6-foot-6, Williamson is officially listed at a weight of 284 pounds. That number has fluctuated significantly over the years though, mostly to the upper end of the spectrum. In previous years, reports had placed Williamson at well above 300 pounds (with one from several seasons ago claiming that he had even gotten to as high as 330).
But now at a reported 264 pounds, Williamson has swung to the other extreme and a good extreme at that. With rumors in the offseason that Williamson was already down under 285 pounds, he has now apparently made even better progress with his weight.
The Pelicans currently sit last in the Western Conference this year at 14-43, largely due to injuries up and down their roster. Though no amount of weight loss by Williamson will save their season at this point, at least this is a strong building block for the two-time All-Star forward as he still has three years left on his contract after this one (albeit with some notable protections in place for the Pelicans within that contract).
