Zion Williamson has never been this ready for an NBA season. Notably, ever since making his debut in 2019, the #1 overall pick from the 2019 draft has never played to his potential in the NBA. In the last six years, the 25-year-old has missed more games than he has played for the Pelicans, mostly owing to injuries. Now, as the Pelicans hope to lean on their franchise star, Zion appears closer to the version that once dominated at Duke.

If you have not already come across Zion Williamson’s new look, the Pelicans’ forward has never looked slimmer and fitter in the last six years. When asked about how he feels after losing almost 50 pounds, the 25-year-old simply said that “I haven’t felt like this since college, high school. I can walk into a gym and just feel good.” The Pelicans’ star also revealed his plans to lose weight during the offseason.

“We came up with a plan, from boxing to working out on the football field a lot, to just different random workouts,” he said on the media day yesterday, “And during that timeframe last year, I really felt a shift in my body to where I would look at him and be like, ‘It feels good to feel good.” It is to be noted that the former Duke standout played only 30 games last season due to his hamstring and back injuries. However, whenever he was on the court, it’s safe to say that New Orleans looked like a much more complete team.

In the handful of games Zion Williamson played last season, he managed to average a staggering 24.6 points, along with 7.2 rebounds and 5.3 assists per game. Not to mention, he achieved career highs in steals and blocks per game, as the 25-year-old averaged 1.2 steals and 0.9 blocks throughout the regular season.

We all know what a fully fit Zion Williamson can bring to the court, and Pelicans fans might be in for a memorable season. But let’s not forget that his new look comes with added context: Zion’s five-year, $197.2 million contract had clear fitness stipulations attached.

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When New Orleans extended Williamson in 2022, the deal was structured to account for concerns about his conditioning. As Jack Savage of talkSPORT explained, Zion must keep his combined weight under 295 lbs and maintain a body fat percentage below 11% to earn his full salary. Falling short would mean a 20% cut, while the remaining 80% of his guaranteed pay depends on how many games he played the previous season.

As for the Pelicans fans, they still do not seem to have trust in the former overall #1 pick.

Zion Williamson’s transformation fails to win NBA fans

Even though the New Orleans Pelicans star thinks that he’s in the best shape of his life, the NBA community did not believe anything Zion Williamson said during his franchise’s media day. “He says this every time he’s back from an injury,” another fan claimed. He accused the forward of saying the same thing every season, only for him to get injured again. Well, you cannot blame the fans, given that Williamson’s injury record is pretty terrible.

In his six seasons in the NBA through April 2025, Zion Williamson missed 258 games and played in 214 games. He missed his entire 2021-22 season due to a Jones fracture in his right foot, although has since played some part every season. So, it’s safe to say that the fans won’t stop accusing him until they see results. Meanwhile, a fan took a jab at Williamson, suggesting he wasn’t even fit during his time at Duke. “Wasn’t even in shape in college,” he commented. Well, this might be a bit of a stretch because the Pelicans star was in pretty good shape during his college days, and his performances should be enough to prove that.

Although he only played a single season, it’s safe to say that Zion Williamson was a force to be reckoned with. At the same time, not everyone thought that the 25-year-old was lying on media day, as a few showed their support toward him. So much so, they started pushing him into the MVP race. “Zion MVP campaign starts now,” someone wrote. They believe that not only will the New Orleans forward stay healthy, he’ll also be among the best players in the league next season.

Well, there’s no doubt about his talent. But whether Williamson truly plays to his potential this season or not, we are not that far away from knowing it all. What do you think of his transformation?