Zion Williamson has not played for the Pelicans since January 2, when he suffered a hamstring strain in a Pelicans loss to the Sixers. Williamson was initially ramping up to return after the All-Star break, but he aggravated his injury in his return to on-court work, resulting in another shutdown that has continued for more than a month.
On Wednesday, we got our latest update on Williamson and it was one of the first positive updates since late January, as the Pelicans announced he was cleared again to return to on-court activities. That is the good news, but the bad news is he will be out for at least two more weeks prior to his next evaluation by the training staff.
Medical Update on Zion Williamson:
Following a re-evaluation on his right hamstring strain, Zion Williamson has been cleared to return to on-court activities. He will be re-evaluated in two weeks.
— New Orleans Pelicans (@PelicansNBA) March 22, 2023
Given the Pelicans regular season ends on April 9 and two weeks from today would be April 5, it seems likely that Williamson will not be back in action during the regular season. Some of that may depend on how New Orleans’ push for the play-in is going, as they are currently 12th in the West, tied with the Lakers and a half-game behind the Timberwolves and Jazz in 9th and 10th. Their upcoming schedule, which includes a difficult four-game road trip, will determine whether it’s worth even trying to get Williamson back on the court for the final two or three regular season games. If they’re in one of those top-10 spots, maybe he’ll be able to give them a closing boost, but one would expect the Pelicans to be cautious with their franchise star, particularly if they’re on the outside looking in.
