Pelicans star Zion Williamson has sustained a Grade 1 left hamstring strain, according to the team, which announced today (via Twitter) that the former No. 1 overall pick will be reevaluated in approximately seven-to-10 days.
That timeline suggests Williamson will be sidelined for upcoming games vs. Charlotte (Tuesday), Dallas (Wednesday), San Antonio (Saturday), and Phoenix (next Monday), and could miss additional time beyond that.
Hamstring issues are nothing new for Williamson, who has now been forced to miss time in each of the last four seasons due to a hamstring injury, tweets Will Guillory of The Athletic. The 25-year-old forward was limited to just 30 outings in 2024/25 as a result of hamstring and back problems.
Williamson appeared in five of the Pelicans’ first six games to open this season and performed well, averaging 22.8 points, 6.8 rebounds, 4.6 assists, and 2.0 steals per game while getting to the free throw line a league-high 11.4 times per contest. However, that strong production hasn’t translated into wins — New Orleans is off to an 0-6 start.
As Kevin O’Connor of Yahoo Sports points out (via Twitter), things could go from bad to worse for the Pelicans without Williamson available, given that his -9.0 net rating this season is actually one of the better marks on the team. New Orleans has been outscored by a staggering 28.7 points per 100 possessions in the 136 minutes Williamson hasn’t played through six games.
The silver lining for the Pelicans is that a Grade 1 strain is considered mild, but given Williamson’s injury history, the club figures to manage the injury carefully.
As Rod Walker of NOLA.com writes, head coach Willie Green spoke on Monday about looking to “turn the page” on the 0-6 start, beginning with Tuesday’s game vs. the Hornets. At that time, Williamson was considered questionable to play due to what the team was referring to as hamstring soreness.
“Obviously we’re all disappointed, frustrated with our start,” Green said. “But we continue to come in, work at it and address it.”
Death and taxes got nothing on Zion
I enjoy Zion and the Pelicans but this guy isn’t worth the trouble. I don’t know how long Dumars’ patience will last.
This freakin’ guy
if this buys willie green 7-10 more days on the job…
I have no idea how much of his inability to stay healthy falls on him and perhaps lack of diet, nutrition or physical training but DAMN is frustrating to see his talent go to waste. SAD. Not a fanboy of LBJ at all but I have a true appreciation of any athlete that has the determination to stay in top shape for that long. As we can see, no one is impervious to injuries as LBJ is currently sidelined too, but he’s been there for 90% of his games including the most post-season games in history. The fact that he still been an elite preformed is even more impressive. I wish Zion the best. The NBA’s efforts to hand over the thrown so quickly to Zion, Morant and now Wimby makes this even more disappointing.
What a nightmare
The body always keeps a score
Would you trade Zion for Ja straight up?
He’ll be out until the All Star Break at a minimum.
Again…???