How Zion Williamson’s Latest Career Milestone Sets Up Fascinating Offseason

In the Pelicans’ victory over the Warriors on Tuesday night, Zion Williamson set a career high.

It was not in points scored, or rebounds, or any of the stats you might guess off the bat (although the bouncy Duke product put up good numbers in those categories). No, Williamson’s career best came in the health department.

The win marked Williamson’s 26th consecutive game played. Since being drafted in 2019 he has never played more than 25 straight games. It’s not a revelation that Williamson’s availability has constantly been in question from the moment he entered the NBA. But most teams play 25 games in a span of roughly two months. Viewed through that lens, it took Williamson until his seventh season to avoid injury for a two-month span. His previous six seasons were so plagued by nagging ailments he never managed to suit up for more than 25 games in a row.

The stat emphasizes just how significant Williamson’s injury issues have been throughout his career. The most optimistic among us could see the milestone as a sign he turned a corner on those issues, but Williamson’s injury issues have been so prevalent throughout his career that more than a 26-game stretch will be needed to buck his reputation. But it is certainly the most positive development health-wise we’ve gotten from the 25-year-old since playing 70 games in 2023–24.

It also sets up a potentially fascinating offseason in New Orleans, when the Pelicans decide what direction they want to move in as a franchise and whether Williamson will be part of that. There was interest in the former top prospect at this year’s deadline, with the Bulls being reported as one of the teams who gauged Williamson’s availability before Feb. 5. But the Pelicans stood fast and reportedly still maintain the belief that he can be a “foundational piece” despite the youth movement happening in New Orleans, with 2025 first-round picks Derik Queen and Jeremiah Fears emerging as the future core of the franchise.

Williamson, of course, is not exactly an elder statesman on the roster given he turns 26 in July. But his career with the team has gone poorly enough that any vision of a contender built around his high-flying talents is gone, and his max rookie extension has been a huge overpay to this point. Taking all that in tandem with the fact that the front office has been overhauled since he was drafted, it would not be a shock for the Pelicans to at least consider if he has a long-term fit with the organization. Should they decide he does not, this offseason will be when he gets moved—and his recent streak of healthy appearances makes matters interesting indeed.

Why Pelicans must make decision on Zion Williamson’s future this offseason

Williamson has two years remaining on his contract after this season, so New Orleans isn’t up against the clock in the traditional sense as far as determining his future with the franchise. But in order to maximize this roster, the summer of 2026 is decision time.

If the Pelicans stick to their guns and keep Williamson around, their offseason flexibility will be somewhat limited given he makes the most money on a shockingly expensive roster. New Orleans is right up against the first apron and have zero notable contracts set to come off the books next season. There are paths to clear money without including Williamson’s deal or blowing up the young core, such as moving off Jordan Poole or Dejounte Murray. But the latter just returned from an Achilles-related absence that stretched over a year and the former has negative trade value at this point.

This front office led by Joe Dumars and Troy Weaver has proven to be extremely aggressive to the point of recklessness, as evidenced by the draft day trade that sent the team’s unprotected 2026 pick to the Hawks in order to move up for Queen. Not moving Williamson would effectively take New Orleans off the board as a player in free agency and the trade market. So it’s a decision with ramifications stretching beyond the Big Easy.

If the Pelicans do decide to trade Williamson, this is the offseason to do it. As noted above there has been trade interest in Williamson this season. He will be entering the penultimate season of his deal, giving any potential new team a long runway to evaluate his fit. From a contract value standpoint teams will never be more willing to offer assets of note for Williamson than this summer. He won’t inspire big trade offers next year when he’ll be an expiring contract. The Pelicans have to pick a direction to maximize the moment, and whatever choice they make will resonate throughout the league.

How Zion Williamson’s healthiest stretch ever could change things

Williamson’s run of healthy games could make that decision complicated, from both a financial and trade perspective.

On the financial front, much of the former All-Star’s salary guarantees for next season are directly tied to how many games he plays. By suiting up last night for his 41st game of the year he triggered a clause that guaranteed 40% of his ‘26–‘27 salary. He’ll get an additional 20% guaranteed if he hits the 51 games played mark, and can fully guarantee next year’s salary of $42.2 million upon reaching 61 games played as long as he also hits certain weight criteria. Should Williamson get hurt again and not hit any further benchmarks, his salary will be fully guaranteed on July 15 no matter what under the terms of his current deal.

It’s a complicated structure that was put into place to give the Pelicans a way to waive Williamson outright without severe financial penalties if his injury problems proved overwhelming. At this point that outcome seems extremely unlikely, but it will be completely eliminated if he gets to 61 games played; at the moment Williamson is on pace to play about 60 games, so it’ll be tight. Nevertheless it’s worth monitoring given every single dollar counts in today’s NBA with the harsh nature of the first and second apron.

Of course, the biggest implications come if this 26-game stretch carries over for much of the remaining season. A healthy Williamson is still good, if not quite as dominant as his past versions; the Pelicans star is averaging 21.9 points per game this year on 59% shooting from the floor and has positively impacted the game when on the court. Should he look good down the stretch of this season the list of teams willing to trade for him will increase exponentially. A Williamson sweepstakes wouldn’t rival the likely Giannis Antetokounmpo sweepstakes to come this summer but it would certainly be a big story. It also, naturally, makes it more likely for New Orleans to want to keep him—but that decision gets a lot harder if other franchises are knocking on the door with trade offers.

At this stage in his career Williamson has a lot to prove. Hitting his career-high in consecutive games played is a good sign for his near future. If it portends a healthy run for the rest of the year that includes a few of his signature highlight dunks, it will pave the way for a fascinating Pelicans offseason.

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