Through five months of the 2021-22 NBA season, Zion Williamson has yet to play a game. After undergoing offseason surgery to repair a fractured right foot, Williamson has been sidelined for the New Orleans Pelicans’ first 71 games.
According to a report from The Athletic’s Shams Charania, Williamson’s chances of suiting up this year are slim.
“Sources said Zion Williamson is not expected to return to play this season,” Charania writes. “He is making progress toward on-court work. So far, Williamson has been seen doing stationary shooting and is able to bear weight on his injured foot.”
Charania further explains that with just 11 games remaining for New Orleans, there’s “an improbably tight window” for Williamson to move through the team’s “ramp-up stages,” which spans from “one-on-zero to five-on-five scrimmaging.”
Williamson rejoined the Pelicans two weeks ago after spending a lengthy period of his rehab in Portland, Oregon. Charania notes that the third-year star has been cleared to “gradually progress in basketball activities,” is attending home games and is seemingly “in positive spirits around teammates and coaches.”
Despite Williamson’s injury, amid a number of other intermittent absences, New Orleans finds itself tied for ninth in the Western Conference at 30-41. It has a 2.5 game lead over the 11th-seeded San Antonio Spurs for the final play-in spot and has seen marked improvement since the arrival of CJ McCollum at the trade deadline.
