Zion Williamson is injured again.
The Pelicans announced on Tuesday that Williamson has suffered a Grade 1 hamstring strain. He’ll be re-evaluated in 7-10 days. The Pelicans did not offer a timeline for return.
Advertisement
The injury is the latest for Williamson, whose career has been maligned by injuries since the Pelicans drafted him first overall in the 2019 NBA Draft. It arrives six games into an already disappointing season for the Pelicans who are off to an 0-6 start.
It’s difficult to project how long Williamson will be sidelined. Hamstring injuries can linger and have sidelined Williamson at length in the past.
Zion Williamson is injured again.
(James Gilbert via Getty Images)
When available, Williamson is the offensive force the Pelicans hoped for when they drafted him. For his career, he’s averaged 24.6 points, 6.6 rebounds and 4.3 assists per game while shooting 58.6% from the field. But he’s missed more games than he’s played.
Advertisement
Since joining the NBA, Williamson has played in 219 of a possible 478 regular-season games — a roughly 45.8% availability rate. He’s played in more than 30 games in just two of six seasons, which includes missing the entire 2021-22 campaign.
A hamstring injury cost Williamson a significant portion of the 2024-25 season in which he played 30 out of 82 regular-season games.
Williamson has faced criticism throughout his career for his lack of conditioning and has clauses in his contract concerning his weight and body-fat percentage. But he came into the new NBA season appearing to be in the best shape of his career.
He told reporters in a preseason news conference that “it feels good to be good.”
Advertisement
“I haven’t felt like this since college, high school, just where I can walk into a gym and I feel good,” Williamson said on Sept. 23.
But now Williamson is injured again. And a Pelicans season that already appears to be lost has sustained another blow.
