New Orleans Pelicans: Zion Williamson Should Listen to (Yikes!) Barkley

New Orleans Pelicans’ rookie Zion Williamson could take a lesson from Charles Barkley.

The New Orleans Pelicans and Zion Williamson are not where they want to be right now.

They’d like to be battling the Lakers in the first round of the playoffs, but instead they are watching from outside the bubble.

There is plenty of blame to go around, but the play of Zion Williamson has obviously gotten a lot of attention.

Zion had to leave the bubble for a family emergency, and when he came back, he was out of shape and was never 100% in the restart.

The New Orleans Pelicans have to be concerned about their star 20-year-old, and if they want some advice for how to handle him they should listen to….Charles Barkley?

Ok, normally Barkley is a bit of a clown in the studio, says things to stir the pot and should generally be viewed as comic relief.

But when it comes to losing weight, Zion Williamson should actually listen.

New Orleans Pelicans: Charles Barkley offers Zion Williamson some good advice.

Like Zion, Barkley entered the league well over his ideal weight, earning himself the nickname “The Round Mound of Rebound.” He weighed nearly 300 lbs. but like Zion Williamson, was an athletic freak who could dominate anyway.

But Barkley didn’t reach his full potential until he got into shape, something he credits to teammate Moses Malone.

Barkley recommended that Zion Williamson find a Moses of his own, saying:

"“You know Zion is probably in the exact same situation I was in. He needs a Moses Malone, a guy who’s gonna be with him and say yo man, let’s figure out what’s your optimum playing weight is.”"

If you look at early Barkley compared to MVP Barkley, he looks like a different guy. Zion Williamson needs a similar transformation.

The New Orleans Pelicans are undoubtedly focused on helping Zion Williamson get to his ideal weight, but it may be one of his teammates who can eventually break though, as Moses did with Sir Charles.

Zion had a tough year that was mired by early injuries and the pandemic, but he still flashed the talent of a generational superstar, even when he was out of shape.

If Zion can follow the same path as Barkley, he cannot only realize his full potential, but will have a much longer career in the NBA.