The SCARY Truth About Zion Williamson Nobody Is Noticing…

The SCARY Truth About Zion Williamson Nobody Is Noticing…

Zion Williamson was supposed to be the next LeBron so how did the number one draft pick in 2019 go from being the potential face of the league to this Li we saw some footage of Zion Williamson that caught your guys attention and I I’d like to see it now Zion Williamson warming up we don’t have him it could be another 2 3 weeks but Chuck you you had a visceral reaction to this it looked like me and Shaq had a baby I quit I got to get hey come on man what it look like you had a baby God dang this dude they eat he eat good in New Orleans okay we definitely don’t want to know what a baby from Shaq and chuck would look like and before you get the wrong idea Zion has actually managed to turn his NBA career around this season the 23-year-old has singlehandedly carried the New Orleans Pelicans into the playoffs for the first time since 2022 having played 77 games for the first time time since his NBA debut but when the Pelicans needed their star the most he fell in this video we’ll be talking about how Zion Williamson has completely turned his NBA career around and whether or not he will ever live up to his hyped up potential can he become a downhill Unstoppable freight train like MVP Giannis Zion Williamson he looks fat but you look like you showed up to the game haven’t just ate a buffet not something from the buffet I said the buffet like you ate the damn table good talent but yeah big fella struggling why you think that is I mean it’s it’s the weight thing this is the first time that I I’m going to sit and watch Zion play a full game he’s not in shape he doesn’t run he plays the game strictly on Talent when the Pelicans lost by 44 points to the Lakers and the semi-final game of the n Season tournament many people took it upon themselves to make a point about Zion Williamson’s weight everybody every Chef there wants to meet him because they know he’ll show up to their restaurant that the the word out on Zion Williamson is that he’ll eat the table I’m quoting he’ll eat the table what in the hell is going on with Zion Williamson but Stephen A Smith wasn’t the only one with nasty things to say about the former 2019 top draft pick other top analysts like Chuck and Shaq were also quick to blame the Pelicans loss on Zion’s weight and lack of aggression now don’t get me wrong Zion was disastrous in that game looked unengaged the 23-year-old power forward finished the game with 13 points two rebounds three assists and three turnovers in 26 minutes while 38-year-old LeBron in comparison scored 30 points in less than three quarters to remind everyone why he he’s the goat even JJ reck who you’d expect to show some sympathy to his ex- teammate went on air to say Zion hasn’t bought into his own career yet this blame game on Zion feels a little far-fetched for someone who was averaged 24.7 points 6.5 rebounds and 4.1 assists in his NBA career but the problem is Zion isn’t just any player with the first pick in the 2019 NBA draft the New Orleans Pelicans select Zion Williamson from Duke University the 2019 top draft pick entered the NBA with massive expectations and while flashes of Brilliance have teased us the 23-year-old has failed to maintain any sort of consistency people are so hard on him because they see so much potential in him sure injuries have played a major role in stopping the 23-year-old from staying in an elite Stratosphere with the likes of KD Lebron Curry and Company but Zion’s biggest problem has been his own self when Williamson was selected as the first overall pick in the 2019 NBA draft the then 18-year-old had the entire world in his hands every social media Outlet TV analyst and Sport magazine were talking about him like some Messiah who had come to save the game in fact the buzz around the future NBA star was so much that many people compared it to that of LeBron James during the 2003 draft year and the reason was not difficult to see at just 18 years of age Zion was already at a towering height of 6’6 while weighing a hefty 285 lbs the Duke product was also coming into the league after having the most efficient season in college basketball history during which the power forward earned numerous Awards like the ACC Player of the Year ACC athlete of the year and ACC Rookie of the Year Zion’s strength and Agility combined with his explosiveness makes him unsto able but all that superhuman speed and strength have also made him vulnerable to injury when Zion was selected as the number one draft pick by the New Orleans Pelicans the future NBA star was rewarded with a 4-year contract worth over $ 44.2 million while being the second most followed NBA star on social media behind LeBron James with more money and fame than he could ever dream of Zion felt on top of the world and so he began to indulge himself with all the fast food and sugary snacks he could lay his hands on after all this was just an 18-year-old kid now keep in mind that this was a player who was already weighing an incredible 280 lbs even before making his NBA debut combined that with his explosive style of play and poor eating habits and it became clear that Zion was playing with a ticking bomb waiting to explode at any time and that bomb would explode sooner rather than later in 2019 Zion Was preparing for his first season in the NBA when he suddenly tore his meniscus in his right knee during a preseason training routine the Pelicans announced the following week that Zion would require surgery on his right knee forcing him to miss the first 44 games of the regular season now this was the first red flag because Zion hadn’t even played his first professional game for the Pelicans before sustaining such a huge injury in fact this injury in question wasn’t a result of physical contact or some freak injury rather it was a combination of different factors such as his weight an explosive sty of play which caused an increased load on his right leg and knee after 3 months on the sidelines Zion eventually made his long awaited debut against the Spurs in 2020 during which the former Duke product delivered a performance for the ages scoring 22 points in just 18 minutes finally the Pelicans and NBA fans got a glimpse at what Williamson was capable of but it was shortlived as the right knee injury flared up again forcing Zion to miss the final few games of the Pelican season that injury was then followed by a right-and thumb sprain in 2021 and another right foot injury that forced Zion to miss an entire season during this period Zion refused to maintain a healthy eating habit and continued to indulge in unhealthy habits causing the first draft pick to look more like the fridge than himself for instance when Zion showed up for training during the summer of 2022 it was reported that the Pelican star weighed something between 300 to 330 lb photos of the NBA star looking bigger and heavier than ever spread like wildfire on the internet causing Sparks of debate about his dieting and commitment to the game Zion became a meme and for the first time everyone started to wonder if the basketball player Zion was some fantasy that was never meant to be to add salt to the injury Zion’s announcement that he was about to become a father turned into a full-blown online drama an adult TV star Mariah Mills posted a series of their conversations on social media and threatened to release his second tape with Zion’s recurring injuries weight issues and offc Court drama many people assumed the New Orleans Pelicans would wave Zion Williamson and move on from the power forward instead the New Orleans Pelicans rewarded the NBA star with a 197.4 million contract covering 5 years this was a difficult decision but it was one the franchise probably felt they had to take and the reason for that is pretty simple Zion is the best player on the team and when fit he’s the type of player that can single-handedly win games for any team despite the Pelican’s faith in Zion by rewarding him with a new contract the two-time allstar did little to repay their faith in him with injuries continuing to hamper his performances on the court to make matters worse his weight issues and lack of discipline did not stop raising questions about the Pelicans decision to award the 23-year-old with a bumper new deal but here’s the catch when the New Orleans Pelicans were negotiating a new deal with Zion Williamson they added a weight Clause to his contract according to multiple reports Zion must maintain a combined weight and body fat percentage below 295 if exceeded his guaranteed money will take a hit but there’s more according to a report from the athletic the final three years of Zion’s contract are not guaranteed after the 6’6 PowerHouse missed more than 22 games in 20122 in other words the Pelicans could decide to wave Zion on as early as 2024 without worrying about any Financial ramifications as crazy as it sounds the likelihood of the Pelicans doing that is very slim but the fact it’s considered an option shows that the franchise are just as fed up with Zion’s issues as everyone else so when videos of Zion Williamson’s awful performance combined with his apparent weight increase began to Trend again on social media following the Pelican’s loss to the Lakers in the inseason tournament the Pelicans front office must have been sweating about what to do with their franchise play to make matters worse there were multiple reports he was turning a deaf ear to the constant pleas by the Pelicans to improve his dieting and body conditioning I guess all the body shaming and public scrutiny about Zion’s weight finally caught up with him after embarrassingly dropping one of the worst performances of his NBA career in December against the Lakers word on the street is that Zion went back to the gym and shed 25 or more pounds out of the Public’s eye he quietly locked in got in shape returned to form while the the media focused on other corners of the league Zion was quietly having the healthiest season of his NBA career to put that into context Zion played a career-high 77 games and would have eclipsed that number if he hadn’t picked up an unfortunate hamstring injury in April in fact Zion’s Newfound ability to maintain availability became crucial in helping the Pelicans finish their 23 24 season with a record of 49-33 their highest win total since Zion joined the franchise in 2019 in the second highest win total in their NBA history and at a time when the likes of LeBron James Steph Curry and Kevin Durant struggled to secure their teams a place in the postseason it was Zion who secured his team a place in the playoffs in return Zion began showing the foran consistency we saw during his sophomore year in the league from that humbling experience in December 2023 Zion improved his Fitness and conditioning to help the Pelicans become one of the best teams in the league in his last 14 games the two-time All-Star averaged 25.6 points 6.6 rebounds and 4.4 assists while shooting 59.8% from the field this boost in confidence meant Zion began attacking the basket more with far more Zeal and determination than ever before at the start of the Season Zion was averaging 16.7 drives per game however by the time the league resumed in January Zion had shifted into overdrive pushing that number up to 18.4 but it’s not just the sheer quantity of those drives that caught the eye the quality was just as impressive Zion was racking up 14 points per game off those drives alone while sinking shots at a solid 53.4% from the field using his terrifying speed agility and superb ball handling ability Zion was ripping defenses to shreds while drawing a league topping 2.6 fouls on those drives Zion’s Newfound confidence and commitment made him Unstoppable because of that opposing teams began packing the paint in an attempt to stop him but that was not enough to stop him because the Pelican forward had morphed his game to be a real playmaker also you see Zion in his earlier career got to the paint like a power forward musling his way to the basket with post up and paint action however in each of the last three seasons Zion has swapped those post-ups for more drives not only is the 6’6 Titan driving more but he’s using his incredible ball handling skills to get to the rim in other words Zion has undergone a significant shift in his playing style he started his career as a front Court player whose strength was his ability to dominate the paint however at just 6’6 he was relatively short for a power forward which meant he often had to rely on his athleticism and strength to beat larger opponents this physically demanding style when combined with his recurring injuries is not sustainable and that’s why Zion and the Pelicans decided to change his style to make him more of a perimeter player this strategic move has allowed Zion to to take advantage of his various gifts making him a nightmare for defenses since guards are too small and frontcourt players are too slow or weak to defend him Zion can easily Breeze past his opponents and become the main guy in pick and roll plays this change in style has also made Zion a more well-rounded player capable of scoring and bringing his teammates into play in terms of statistics Zion’s shift to a perimeter player has had a positive impact he now dishes out 1.8 assists every 36 minutes shows he’s become a better playmaker he’s also cut down his turnovers by a tiny point1 overall the change in Zion’s playing style has turned him into a more versatile player capable of playing in a variety of positions and making an impact on the game another side of Zion’s game that has gone unnoticed is the defensive side of his game in fact it’s hard to recall a season where a player has made such a defensive transformation as Williamson has this season ever since Zion was drafted in 2019 the pelican forward had been a defensive liability for the Pelicans and while the former Duke player has shown flashes of good defensive instincts it was nothing like the blocks or defensive commitment he showed while playing college basketball we’ve all seen those epic block highlights from his college days but it’s yet to truly manifest in the NBA for instance in this match against the Lakers you’ll notice Williamson leisurely jogging back on defense while LeBron James is sprinting down the court like a Raging Bull and then everything changed after the All-Star break it was as if some switch magically flipped in Zion’s head because the two-time allstar went from looking disinterested in his defensive duties to making multiple defensive plays on the same possession he just decided to care about defense and the numbers prove it after the All-Star break the Pelicans defensive rating improved to 106.9 with him on the floor for instance in the game against the Miami Heat Zion was tasked with guarding Jimmy Butler and he does a good job of stopping Butler’s base drive by making the effort to meet him in the paint he doesn’t get caught up in the air on the pump fake and forces the 34-year-old to kick out the ball in the Pelicans win over the LA Clippers in 2024 Zion battles kawh Leonard in the fourth quarter he doesn’t just hold his ground against the Clipper star he keeps him out of the paint and forces him into a tough off-balance fadeaway that misses this is a drastic difference in the level of effort and attention that was displayed earlier this season Williamson’s ability to defend stars like Leonard and Butler doesn’t just give the Pelicans more defensive versatility allows coach green to Tinker with matchups and use herb Jones Trey Murphy III and Naji Marshall to strengthen the team defensively because of this change in performance and lift and confidence people have started talking about Zion’s future sealing and ultimate potential again could he be an MVP contention next year can the Pelicans make a real run in the playoffs next year depends on his health and mindset the big question remains can he stay injury free for a full season how bad does he want it again yes only time will tell

Zion Williamson was once hyped up as the next face of the NBA, but injuries and weight issues derailed his promising career early on. Lets unpack how Williamson turned things around this season, shedding pounds and regaining his dominant form to lead the Pelicans back into the playoffs.