With another NBA season on the horizon, the same question is still being asked about Zion Williamson and the New Orleans Pelicans. The question being how good can the Pelicans be with a healthy Zion for an entire season, as the past couple season his absences have had a major impact on any possible playoff success. In a tough western conference, the Pelicans could be a very competitive team next season but they will need a healthy Zion to reach their goals. Zion will also have tremendous individual expectation considering his quality of play when on the floor though he has missed more games than he has played so far in his NBA career. With that said, what would be considered fair expectations for Zion Williamson this season?
On a positive note, no one can question Zion's talent as for his career he has averaged 25.8 points and 7 rebounds per game on an impressive 60% field goal percentage. The two time All-Star is a dominant force when healthy but the problem in his career so far remains his lack of availability. In his four seasons in the NBA, he has played at least 30 games just one time in his career and missed all 82 games in the 21-22 season with a foot injury. Though the timing of his injuries are always very unfortunate the answer to how reliable he can be as a franchise player despite his talent is still in question. Next season, if Zion is able to put together a season similar to his 20-21 campaign where he not only made his first All-Star team but also played 61 games it could bode well for his career as well as the Pelicans.
For the 23-24 season, I feel that fair expectations for Zion should be more than just simply staying healthy as it is only part of the solution. The expectations should start with Zion evolving as a leader and improving his conditioning to help him avoid lingering injuries. Accomplishing that will allow him to not only have best season of his young career but also finally answer the question of what a fully loaded Pelicans team is capable of come playoff time. Though it would likely be unfair to expect him to play at least 65 games which would be required for consideration on any All-NBA team, being healthy for a playoff run has to be his #1 goal this season. This could also help his individual expectations as a healthy motivated Zion is not only an All-Star caliber player but a future MVP caliber player as well. With a lot of pressure and expectation for Zion, this season is undoubtedly the most important of his career so far and could have major implications for his future in New Orleans. Still, I believe in Zion's talent and at 23 years old he still has a long successful career ahead of him and he likely could have the best year of his career this season.
Source: NBA YouTube Channel
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