Jason Kidd's Honest Statement on Zion Williamson

The Mavericks head coach addressed the media after his team's victory over the Pelicans on Friday.

Feb 21, 2025; Dallas, Texas, USA; Dallas Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd looks on during the second half against the New Orleans Pelicans at the American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images | Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

The New Orleans Pelicans fell to a woeful 4-24 on the road after a 111-103 loss to the Dallas Mavericks on Friday. Once again, New Orleans had a chance to steal a win, but turnovers and poor execution doomed them in the end. The Pelicans are 1-5 in their last six games decided by eight points or less.

Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd knew coming into the game that stopping Pelicans star forward Zion Williamson would be an extremely tall order. Dallas played Friday's game without Anthony Davis, Dereck Lively II, and Daniel Gafford, who will all miss significant time with injury.

Williamson finished the game with 29 points on 11/15, shooting from the field in 27 minutes of action. Kidd addressed the media postgame about the difficulty of guarding a player like Williamson

Jason Kidd comments on the small-ball Mavs’ effort against Zion Williamson, who consistently attempted to get looks at the basket.#MFFL pic.twitter.com/fly5yxrTyS

— Joey Mistretta (@JoeyMistretta_) February 22, 2025

“He’s not easy to guard,” Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd said of Williamson after the game. “We were sending him to the free throw line there a lot in that first half. I thought the guys did a better job."

"He’s super talented. We tried to double-team him, make others beat us. I thought the group did a great job of being able to rotate and then rebound the ball being small.”

FLAT OUT UNSTOPPABLE pic.twitter.com/13WpaW615t

— New Orleans Pelicans (@PelicansNBA) February 22, 2025

Since returning from injury in January, the two-time all-star has been on a tear, scoring at least 27 points in four of his last five games despite being on a minutes restriction. The Pelicans are being cautious with their star after he missed 27 straight games with a hamstring injury.

New Orleans returns home on Sunday to face the San Antonio Spurs.

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