The Pelicans may finally be getting the Zion Williamson they were promised

For all athletes, the offseason presents an incredible opportunity.

For an NBA talent, the focus is typically on three things: recharging ahead of another long season, working on weaknesses, or improving their body. Players who try to do all three are the ones who separate themselves from being a good player to being a great one. For the majority of Zion Williamson’s NBA career, he has treated the offseason like a good player, and it has held him back from being great. However, since the arrival of Joe Dumars and company last offseason, Z made major changes to his offseason approach, and a recent photo of the Pels star suggests he’s on an incredible path.

A photo was captured of Zion out in public, and he looks like he’s in the best shape of his career. He looks slim but strong and has the build Zion needs to maintain his health without losing what makes him such a special offensive talent.

Zion has been trending in the right direction since last season

Last season is what I’d call stage one of Zion becoming that player he was drafted to be. 

Now let me clarify: Zion has had incredible years, like in 2020-21, when he played 61 games, averaged 27 points per game and was an All-Star. But every year, his season started or ended the same way: with injuries. 

Last season was different. Zion came in incredibly slim, didn’t struggle with conditioning, and was healthy, playing 62 total games and appearing in 35 consecutive games, which was the most of his career. The issue was that because Z was so slim, his effectiveness as a driver took a hit. Zion was still getting downhill and getting to the rim for clean looks, but he wasn’t as automatic in the paint because he lacked that strength he used to bully opponents with. 

The other flag with Z’s 2025-26 campaign was how low his usage was. 

You can credit some of his scoring production dip to a career-low 21 points per game to coaching and the system being run, but the main reason was that his usage had fallen off a cliff. Zion saw his usage numbers drop from a career 30.5 percent to 25.7 percent. That lack of touches and having to be the guy definitely contributed to keeping Z healthy, but long-term, if this team is going to be successful, him taking just 13 shots per game again isn’t going to cut it. Given the work and shape he appears to be in now, that appears to be something both he and the front office understand.

Obviously, to some, Z being in great shape going into another season feels like deja vu or something we’ve all seen before, but this time it genuinely has a different feel. If you're following Zion’s trainer Kris Chrisp, you’ve seen the journey he’s been on since the second the Pelicans 2025-26 season ended. All different types of workouts, on-court improvements like jump shooting, and lifting weights. You can see the motivation to be great is there, and with that, Zion can really become that No. 1 option the franchise envisioned when he initially arrived in 2019.

It has taken time, but heading into year 8, Zion Williamson seems to have figured it out, and if he has, it’s time to start looking at the New Orleans Pelicans completely differently in 2026-27.

The potential with Zion has always been there: elite athleticism, explosive speed, unbelievable strength, star charisma, and high-level finishing. But whether it was dieting struggles, a lack of motivation, injuries piling up, or other factors, we never got to see a full, healthy year of the potential Z was said to have as a No. 1 overall pick.

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