Why Joel Embiid should give Pelicans fans hope about Zion Williamson

Zion Williamson has yet to play a game for the New Orleans Pelicans in his third season.

Some fans are starting to wonder if Zion will play at all this season, and have concerns about his long-term future with the team, as he has only played in 85 games so far in three seasons.

Zion missed all but 24 games of his rookie season after suffering an injury in preseason, had to miss 11 games last season and has yet to play in any of the 25 games in this one.

Given his most recent setback, it is fair to wonder how many more he’s going to miss this season and a lot of fans are wondering if Zion and the franchise might just be cursed.

Of course, Philadelphia 76ers fans were wondering the same thing about MVP-candidate Joel Embiid, who is now one of the best centers in the league, but was once an even bigger question mark than Zion Williamson.

Joel Embiid should give Zion Williamson hope that he can turn it around

Joel Embiid was once one of the biggest “what-ifs” in basketball.  Like Zion, he entered the league as a top prospect and the guy most thought was the most talented in his draft class. The only thing keeping Embiid from going number one was concerns about his health.

The Process 76ers took a risk and for the first three seasons they had no clue whether it would ever pay off.

Joel Embiid didn’t play a single game in his first two seasons (imagine if that had happened with Zion!) and only played 31 in his third season in the league.

Since then, Embiid has gone onto make four All-Star teams and has evolved into one of the best all-around centers in the league, an MVP candidate and one of the few untouchable players in the NBA.

Zion Williamson has been an Iron Man in his first three seasons compared to Embiid, and hasn’t suffered any injuries that should linger over the course of his career as long as he takes better care of himself and more closely follows training protocols.

It’s easy to be upset/depressed/angry about Zion’s bad luck but he is still very young and has plenty of time to put together a long career that will make us forget about the injuries.

No one talks about Embiid’s missed games any more, as he has managed to mostly stay healthy since, so let’s hope that Zion Williamson’s injury troubles are someday forgotten as he gets back and starts playing like an MVP candidate again.