Pelicans fire back at ESPN star's baseless attack on Zion Williamson

Zion Williamson is no stranger to criticism. As an elite basketball prospect, he's been under both the spotlight and the microscope since high school, a combination that can be lethal for anyone who lacks the tough exterior necessary to withstand the heat. The scrutiny has followed him throughout his basketball career, first to Duke and now with the New Orleans Pelicans.

If anything, the hate has only grown louder in his time in the Bayou. Some of it is warranted. Zion has failed to prove that he can stay healthy and lead the Pelicans on an extended playoff run so far, let alone be the number one option on a title team. Normally, a player shouldn't be faulted for injuries, considering that they're the primary victims and sports ailments are typically a natural and unavoidable part of the game.

For a long time, though, it was clear that Williamson wasn't taking care of his body the way a multimillionaire professional athlete should. But that was no longer relevant this season, as he significantly slimmed down last summer and kept the weight off. That much should have been clear to anyone paying attention, but that's not really Stephen A. Smith's strong suit. SAS decided to throw in his two cents regarding New Orleans shutting Zion down for the rest of the season and showed just how little he actually follows the game. The Pelicans didn't care for his ignorant provocation and decided to respond in kind.

Pelicans Twitter/X account dunks all over Stephen A. Smith

Earlier this week, the New Orleans Pelicans officially announced that they were shutting down both Zion Williamson and CJ McCollum for the remainder of the year. Both stars had been on the injury report with minor ailments: Zion with a lower back contusion and CJ with a contusion in his foot. Just to be clear, a contusion is a bruise.

When reporting on the Pelicans' decision to hold out Zion for the rest of the year, Stephen A. had this to say:

"I feel very, very bad for the Pelicans and the city of New Orleans because Zion Williamson is an All-Star-caliber talent. When he is on the court and healthy, he's a monster. The problem is he's rarely available, and as great as he is, the word bust comes to mind, not because of his talent. I'm only talking his availability. If you're not available, it doesn't matter how great you are, and he's almost never available, and that is the situation."

Overall, would this have been an unfair thing to say? Not at all. Factually, Williamson hasn't been very available for the Pelicans. That said, New Orleans clearly shut him down for the rest of the season because of their current place in the standings and their desire to lose as much as possible for the rest of the year in order to maximize their odds in the 2025 NBA Draft lottery.

While he only played 30 total games this season, his lack of mileage was more indicative of the Pelicans' shortcomings as a team than his fragility. To say that he's a bust at this moment was a reflection of just how little Stephen A. actually knows about New Orleans's situation. He would clearly rather get an inflammatory quote out there than actually watching the Pelicans and provide any meaningful or substantial insight.

Thankfully, the Pelicans' Twitter account was all over it. In response, they posted a video they had compiled in the past of Stephen A.'s lowlights over the years, featuring a variety of hilarious bloopers: