Zion is Hurt Again and That Sucks
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It looks as if Zion Williamson is going to miss all of the 21-22 NBA season. It is being reported that he may need a second surgery on his ankle, or some lower body part needed to play basketball at a high level.
This really bums me out. I am trying to be more upbeat this year, but after hearing this news the other day, I have to talk about it. I like Zion. I am not a Duke fan, but I watched them play when Zion was there. I am not a New Orleans Pelicans fan, but I watched when Zion was playing. But now, with multiple injuries and missing time here and there and having his minutes restricted when he was playing, it just seems like Zion is going to go down as one of the biggest what ifs in the history of the NBA.
There are some reports saying that he might not need the surgery, that it is too soon to tell, but come on, we have seen this story before. And that is what scares me most about this new report. Zion was THE can't miss prospect when he entered the draft three years ago. He was supposed to be the most sure pick since LeBron. He was going to save the Pelicans, being that they had just traded Anthony Davis to the Lakers. Teaming him up with Lonzo Ball, Brandon Ingram and Josh Hart was going to make this one of the most fun teams to watch in the NBA for years to come. Hell, I was laughed at and chastised by RD for ranking Ja Morant ahead of Zion in my pre draft write up that year. Who is laughing now RD? HAHAHAHAHA. But I digress. I bought into the Zion hype. I am super pumped that Morant is as great as he is this early in his career, but I looked at the possibility of him and Zion being the next 1-2 punch in the league. It was going to be super dope to see these two extremely skilled and hyper athletic athletes go head to head for years and years to come. But while Ja has stayed relatively healthy, the same cannot be said for Zion. His rookie year he played in only 24 games. Those 24 games were spellbounding, with some nutjobs claiming he should be ROTY, clearly Ja deserved and won it. But he looked great. But he was also playing garbage time for a team well out of the playoff race by then. He missed far too much time, and we should have seen that as a sign. But in the 2020 season he played in 61 games. He seemed like he was in decent shape. He was playing the point at times for the Pelicans. He was putting up double doubles with ease. It looked like we were going to get the greatness we all expected.
Then the pandemic hit. There was a two month layoff. And when the NBA decided to do the bubble, Zion looked disinterested and out of shape. Something seemed off. The Pelicans could have made the playoffs, but they went home after eight subpar games. Then talks started that he was unhappy, that he was going to ask for a trade, that he wanted to be in a bigger market. But then when the season started, Zion was hurt again. He was going to miss a few weeks. The few weeks turned into a month. Then came a surgery that has kept him out. There were also some photos surfacing of him shooting around before a game, and he looked big. I get that people can doctor photos, and I do not like my picture taken, but Zion has always been a big dude, and he looked real big in these photos. That was the one knock on him coming into the NBA, that he was going to have to lose weight. And it seems like he has not taken on that role yet. I get it. I'm a big guy too, and food is delicious, but I am not a professional athlete who has gobs of money at my disposal and can hire people to help keep me in shape. Yet I have found ways to lose weight and keep it off. To this point in the season, Zion has played zero games. And with this new news it seems like he is going to miss the entirety of the regular season. And I think fans and other people involved with the NBA are starting to move on.
I hope I am wrong and I hope he comes back stronger than ever next year. But we are in year three and he has only played 85 career games. That scares me. I cannot imagine how scared Pelicans fans and their front office are right now. I hope the news is wrong. I hope he does not have to get surgery, or if he does, it is very minor. I hope he comes back and is as ferocious a dunker and rebounder as he was before. I want the best for him because, as a selfish NBA fan, I want to see him dominate. But at this rate it seems more likely that he retires sooner than expected and we talk about Zion as what could have been. That would stink. I hope I am wrong.
Ty
Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing, the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast, and the greatest basketball writer on the internet.