Pelicans Need to Play Zion Williamson More

New Orleans needs to relinquish their thought process of coddling Williamson's minutes.

Jan 2, 2026; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; New Orleans Pelicans forward Zion Williamson (1) looks on against the Portland Trail Blazers during the first half at Smoothie King Center. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Lew-Imagn Images | Stephen Lew-Imagn Images

The New Orleans Pelicans' season feels like a high-wire act, with star forward Zion Williamson at the center of the balancing performance. Williamson played just 30 games a season ago, the fourth time in his career he’s played 30 games or less in a year. The two-time All-Star spent the offseason shaping his body to be similar to his college weight ahead of the 2025-2026 season.

After spending much time conditioning and transforming him to his pre-NBA shape, the narrative should be about dominance. Instead, it remains centered on the stopwatch. Williamson is averaging 28.6 minutes per contest, but has dominated since his return from injury and into the starting lineup.

Williamson is averaging 32.7 points and 6.7 rebounds on 62.3% shooting from the field over the last three games. It’s Williamson’s first 30+ points in three straight games since 2021. Despite the former No. 1 overall pick’s dominance, New Orleans has lost six straight games and remains the worst team in the Western Conference.

In years past, the "minutes restrictions" were a necessity of physics; Zion’s body and conditioning simply couldn’t handle the grind of 35 minutes of high-intensity basketball. However, this Zion is different. By his own admission, he feels better than he has since college. His ability to return from a Grade 2 adductor strain earlier this season in just 12 days—an injury that usually sidelines players for a month—is the ultimate proof that his conditioning overhaul worked.

"Injuries suck... Over the summer, me putting in that work on my body, allows me if something does happen, it's not something that keeps me out for a super long time. I'm able to rehab at a faster but more efficient rare"

-- Zion Williamson on his quick return from injury pic.twitter.com/1C6LV1ZGAn

— Pelicans Film Room (@PelsFilmRoom) December 15, 2025

Pelicans Must Unleash Zion Williamson to Be a More Competitive Team

"Injuries suck”, Williamson said after returning quickly from his abductor injury. “Over the summer, me putting in that work on my body allows me if something does happen, it's not something that keeps me out for a super long time. I'm able to rehab at a faster but more efficient rate."

Pelicans interim head coach James Borrego has taken notice of Williamson's exemplary play as of late. “What I can tell you is, it’s as well as I think he’s played in a while,” Borrego recently said when asked when the last time the forward has played this well. “I can't give you a stretch last year. I’ve seen this before, but in recent history, this is probably the best. Mentally and physically, he looks really strong right now.”

If the work has been done to make him durable, the team must reap the rewards. Managing a superstar's health is wise, but managing him and the Pels into the worst record in the Western Conference is a failure of strategy. The Pelicans already don’t own their first-round pick next season, so even a light “tanking” objective won’t work in this scenario.

The Pelicans have one of the worst clutch records in the league this season, just 5-13 in games within five points with less than five minutes remaining in the contest. If Williamson plays 34 minutes instead of 28 in some of these games, could New Orleans have flipped a few of these narrow losses into wins?

If the Pelicans' top brass wants to prove that this era of New Orleans basketball is still viable, the training wheels have to come off.