Pelicans Tease Zion Williamson Return in Thursday's Injury Update

Zion Williamson has been cleared to practice with contact.

Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images

It has been a deeply frustrating start to the season for the New Orleans Pelicans, who are once again dealing with injuries to key contributors and are facing another lost season. Sitting at the bottom of the Western Conference with a 2-9 record, the Pelicans desperately need a boost to turn things around. Fortunately, it looks like they are about to get Zion Williamson back.

On Thursday, the team announced on X that Williamson has been progressing well and "has been cleared to resume on-court basketball activities with contact." The Pelicans added that they will continue to update their star power forward's status appropriately. The fact that he will be practicing with contact, however, suggests that Williamson's return is imminent.

Zion Williamson Set to Return to Action Soon for the New Orleans Pelicans

The Pelicans are facing the Lakers in the NBA Cup on Friday before hosting the Warriors and the Thunder in back-to-back games on Sunday and Monday. It's almost a certainty that Williamson won't play in both legs of the back-to-back, but returning in one of those games seems like a plausible scenario. His next opportunity to return will come against the Nuggets on Wednesday.

Williamson has missed six of the Pelicans' 11 games this season. The grade 1 left hamstring strain he suffered earlier in the month has kept him out of the Pelicans' last five games. While Williamson's imminent return is obviously a good sign, hamstrings are notoriously tricky, and the Pelicans need to be cautious. They have dealt with a very long list of injuries when it comes to Williamson, and they desperately want to avoid another lost season for their 25-year-old star.

Zion has played more than half of the games in a season only once in the last four years. The fact that he has already missed more than half of the games this season should be concerning.

What is more concerning, however, is the fact that Williamson is nowhere near the level of player he was earlier in his career. Yes, he is slimmer and more mobile this season, but he lacks the explosiveness and athleticism from a few years ago.

In his first couple of seasons in the NBA, Williamson was one of the most unstoppable drivers and finishers in the game. He was a matchup nightmare: too fast to be guarded by a center, and too strong to be defended by a perimeter player. He was a devastating force inside the arc. He has been fine this season, but he is just not the same level of offensive force.

Williamson will definitely help the Pelicans upon his return. But, he may not be able to change the fate of the franchise's season anymore, and that is the bigger problem.