Report: Zion Williamson to miss start of season

Rookie being held out with knee soreness

The NBA will have to wait a little longer to see the debut of Zion Williamson.

The Duke one-and-done was the top pick in the NBA Draft and has scored 23 ppg in the preseason. According to reports by ESPN, however, Williamson will miss the start of the regular season due to right knee soreness.

Williamson, expected by online bookmakers to approach 300 dunks this season, will be out for the first few weeks.

The right knee has been a thorn in Williamson’s side since his year at Duke. He missed two weeks with soreness in the knee after tearing through his shoe during a February game against UNC.

Here’s Coach Mike Krzyzewski saying that things would have been different last year if “that damn shoe doesn’t break.”

Williamson put on a show in his first Summer League game after being drafted by New Orleans. A knee bruise cut short his participation in that event, however.

He’s also wowed in the preseason, scoring 23 ppg, the highest average by a rookie in at least 20 years.

On Thursday, the Pelicans announced that Williamson would not play in Friday’s preseason finale in Madison Square Garden against the Knicks due to “right knee soreness.”

A day later, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported that Williamson will “miss a period of weeks to start the regular season.”

Wojnarowski reported that the team had ruled out the possibility of a severe injury, but New Orleans is being cautious with the rookie and there is “no shortage of confidence” in his full recovery.