With a trip to the championship game of the NBA’s inaugural In-Season Tournament on the line in December, the New Orleans Pelicans face-planted.
They lost by 44 points to the Los Angeles Lakers on national TV. Their failure to be remotely competitive in such a high-profile game triggered intense media scrutiny.
Specifically, talking heads and reporters focused on Zion Williamson, whose poor conditioning was painfully apparent.
TNT’s Charles Barkley offered blunt analysis: “He’s not in shape. He doesn’t run. He plays the game strictly on talent.”
Shaquille O’Neal, Barkley’s TNT teammate, said about Williamson: “Does not run hard. I had the same problem.”
Williamson’s poor conditioning had been an ongoing issue. As The Times-Picayune first reported in 2022, the five-year contract Williamson signed that summer contained clauses stipulating that the sum of his weight and body-fat percentage needed to be below 295.
In December, The Times-Picayune reported the Pelicans repeatedly had stressed to Williamson that his diet and conditioning needed to improve but that Williamson refused to listen.
Jasper Bibbs, who previously worked as Williamson’s personal trainer after a brief stint at LSU, reposted a screenshot of The Times-Picayune’s reporting to his Instagram account. He added a shrug emoji to his post. Then, Bibbs posted a picture of a slimmed-down Williamson and captioned it “Remember when.”
In the four months since, Williamson has gone to work, correcting the conditioning issues that held him back early in his career. According to ESPN, Williamson has shed more than 25 pounds after the In-Season Tournament. Williamson has credited doing “all the little things” for his transformation.
“I feel great,” said Williamson, whose Pelicans can clinch a playoff spot by beating the Los Angeles Lakers in their regular-season finale Sunday. “I’m having fun. In terms of stacking my days, it’s doing all the little things. Recovery. Extra recovery. Conditioning. Extra conditioning. Then when we are in practice, bringing a high intensity, so my body can be used to that.”
Williamson once again resembles the two-way force he was at Duke. He blocked a career-high five shots in last weekend’s win in Phoenix. On Friday, Williamson collected a career-high six steals as New Orleans capped a 4-0 road trip with a win against Golden State.
Williamson played 40 and 37 minutes in those contests. The “burst” limits the Pelicans placed him on at the start of his NBA career — in which he was on the court for four-minute increments — felt like ancient history.
Pelicans coach Willie Green described the In-Season Tournament loss to the Lakers as a “turning point” for Williamson. Coaches and players have all noticed the shift in his approach since that humbling defeat.
“I don’t think anything needed to be said to him after that game,” Pelicans guard CJ McCollum said. “I think he (has) a phone just like everybody else. He can see all the things that are being said. He has access to all that stuff.
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