New Orleans Pelicans: Will Lost Season Hurt or Help Zion Williamson?

The New Orleans Pelicans hope Zion Williamson wasn’t set back by lost season.

The New Orleans Pelicans really didn’t expect Zion Williamson to play after he blew out his knee in the preseason.

He ended up returning, but played just 24 games and looked out of shape down the stretch.

This was pretty much a lost season for Zion Williamson, who has now played only 24 games in over 500 days since leaving Duke.

With next season potentially pushed back to late December or January, Zion will have played fewer games in nearly two years as a pro than he did in one year at Duke. Yikes.

Zion is now facing a long offseason after his team failed to make the playoffs, and many are wondering how this lost season and strange offseason will affect his overall development.

New Orleans Pelicans: This season was good for Zion Williamson’s development.

There were some positives to take away from this season. It didn’t end the way Zion and the Pelicans wanted, but Zion was able to get some reps in meaningful games.

He also got a chance to see what he is up against when it comes to competition and the grind of the game. Hopefully Zion learned that you can’t take anything for granted, especially your health, and that the NBA season is long and you need to be in top shape to compete.

Zion is an athletic freak who has always just been able to walk onto the court and dominate, so it was good for him to learn that it won’t be so easy in the NBA.

He got to gel with Lonzo Ball and Brandon Ingram, get to know New Orleans and get a feel for high-pressure games. The season wasn’t a complete failure, but it’s hard to say that it went well for Zion Williamson.

New Orleans Pelicans: The lost season set Zion Williamson back.

While there were some positives to take away from Zion’s rookie year, it really was a lost season as far as development goes.

The most important thing for rookies is to get live reps in real games, which Zion barely had the chance to do. While he looked dominant at times, Zion Williamson barely played and returned to the bubble carrying extra weight that proved to be a problem.

Zion looked out of shape, fatigued and was unable to play big minutes in the games that mattered most. He just didn’t get the reps he needed to work on his game, so it is difficult to tell if Zion actually got any better.

With the focus on his physique and conditioning, Zion will be spending most of his offseason working out and less working on his game.

In many ways this was a lost season for Zion, which undoubtedly set him back. With so much focus on injuries and conditioning, Zion wasn’t able to just play, or to get the reps he needs to improve.

He may have saved some mileage on his body, but you can’t improve if you don’t play. Zion not only has to focus on getting in better shape, but needs to add some more nuance to his game on both ends.

Let’s hope that next season he gets the chance to make these improvements.