In their last game, Zion Williamson had another great showing for the New Orleans Pelicans. Against the Detroit Pistons, he finished with 30 points, six rebounds, three assists, and two blocks. He did so on a clean 9-18 performance from the field, which is actually well below his season average of 56.1 percent shooting.
With those numbers from Zion, one would think that New Orleans probably won the game or at least kept it close. Believe it or not though, the Pelicans were absolutely razed by the Pistons, 81-127. Furthermore, that wasn't even the worst part of the night for New Orleans, as Trey Murphy III went down with a season-ending should tear just mere seconds into the contest.
Zion putting up great numbers in a loss isn't exactly an unfamiliar event for the Pelicans and their faithful fans. However, it's become especially pertinent this season, with Williamson putting together arguably the best campaign of his career while New Orleans continues to rack up losses in pursuit of top lottery odds for the upcoming 2025 NBA Draft. The Pelicans are surely hoping that fielding the right personnel alongside Zion will lead to team wins eventually, but what if that success never materializes?
The Pelicans need to see Zion Williamson's dominance lead to team success sooner rather than later
For years, it was surmised that Brandon Ingram and Zion Williamson were an imperfect fit for each other and that their overlapping skills and weaknesses were holding each other and the team back as a unit. This season, we're seeing some evidence that may have been true, as Zion's production has ramped up measurably this year with BI sidelined and then ultimately traded to the Toronto Raptors.
While Williamson has thrived without Ingram on the floor taking up his operating space, it hasn't led to the team success that the Pelicans have hoped. This year, New Orleans is just 9-20 with Zion in the lineup. Of course, this could simply be a product of New Orleans's lost season and their lack of motivation to win. After all, it clearly behooves the team to lose as many games as possible to maximize their lottery odds rather than try to chase moral victories.
That said, this isn't a new trend with Zion and the Pelicans. Since they drafted him back in 2019, New Orleans has gone just 108-105 when he's available. That record looks a little bit better when removing this season's games, but it doesn't improve much.
What's even more concerning is that there doesn't seem to be a positive relationship between his performances and the teams'. New Orleans is just 27-26 when he scores 30 or more points.
Of course, Zion is still just 24 years old and his injury history has limited the sample size for this data. Not to mention that the bulk of the time was spent trying to make it work with Brandon Ingram next to him. Big Z and the Pelicans could very well buck this trend as soon as next season, but it's certainly worth keeping an eye on moving forward. If it keeps up, it might just mean that Williamson's individual success might not be as conducive to winning as expected.