NBA Community Shows No Faith in Zion Williamson Despite Visible Change

The new season is just around the corner, and the media duties have begun. The New Orleans Pelicans were one of the few teams to recently hold their media day, ahead of what is supposed to be a crucial campaign for the franchise, and it’s safe to say, yet again, all eyes were on their superstar forward, Zion Williamson. The former Duke standout is entering his sixth season in the league, but hasn’t been able to replicate the success from his college days due to injuries and perceived issues with conditioning. So, could this finally be the year we will witness the forward at his best?

Well, the 25-year-old certainly thinks so. When asked about how he feels ahead of the 2025-26 campaign, the Pelicans’ star gave a pretty confident reply. “It feels good to feel good. I haven’t felt like this since college,” Williamson said. As expected, this statement from the former No. 1 pick surprised several people, given that he’s managed to surpass the 60-game mark in just two of the five seasons he’s played in the league.

Last season, he also made only 30 appearances and struggled with hamstring and back injuries. However, whenever he was on the court, it’s safe to say that New Orleans looked like a much more complete team. In the handful of games Zion Williamson played last season, he managed to average a staggering 24.6 points, along with 7.2 rebounds and 5.3 assists per game. Not to mention, he achieved career highs in steals and blocks per game, as the 25-year-old averaged 1.2 steals and 0.9 blocks throughout the regular season,

While that proves that Williamson is still capable of playing at the highest level, people have concerns over his weight, which they assume to be the main reason for him facing so many injury problems over the years. Although this speculation does hold some truth in it, given that excessive weight puts unnecessary stress on muscles and ligaments, causing wear and tear, the 25-year-old seems to have lost a significant amount of weight from the past season.

His transformation has been visibly significant, with reports suggesting he lost over 50 pounds this offseason, reaching his lightest weight since being drafted. This may partly be even due to the his 2022 contract extension, which includes clauses that require him to meet specific weight and body fat percentage targets to ensure his health and protect the team. The clause reduces the amount of guaranteed money in his contract if the combined sum of his weight and body fat percentage exceeds 295.

“It feels good to feel good. I haven’t felt like this since college.”

— Zion Williamson

(via @DillySanders) pic.twitter.com/7jRGVOSfdF

— Legion Hoops (@LegionHoops) September 23, 2025

But the people still seem to have no faith in the forward’s statement ahead of the new season, as they quickly took to social media to express their thoughts on whether Zion Williamson will be able to stay healthy or not. “Now let’s see if you can stay healthy for more than 3 games in a row,” a fan wrote on X. He suggested that he’ll only believe the Pelicans star’s words once he sees him suit up for more than three straight matchups. However, he wasn’t the only one, as several reactions poured in from all over the world.

NBA fans refuse to believe Zion Williamson’s statement ahead of the new campaign

Even though the New Orleans Pelicans star thinks that he’s in the best shape of his life, the NBA community did not believe anything Zion Williamson said during his franchise’s media day. “He says this every time he’s back from an injury,” another fan claimed. He accused the forward of saying the same thing every season, only for him to get injured again. Well, you cannot blame the fans, given that Williamson’s injury record is pretty terrible.

In his six seasons in the NBA through April 2025, Zion Williamson missed 258 games and played in 214 games. He missed his entire 2021-22 season due to a Jones fracture in his right foot, although has since played some part every season. So, it’s safe to say that the fans won’t stop accusing him until they see results. Meanwhile, a fan took a jab at Williamson, suggesting he wasn’t even fit during his time at Duke. “Wasn’t even in shape in college,” he commented. Well, this might be a bit of a stretch because the Pelicans star was in pretty good shape during his college days, and his performances should be enough to prove that.

Although he only played a single season, it’s safe to say that Zion Williamson was a force to be reckoned with. At the same time, not everyone thought that the 25-year-old was lying on media day, as a few showed their support toward him. So much so, they started pushing him into the MVP race. “Zion MVP campaign starts now,” someone wrote. They believe that not only will the New Orleans forward stay healthy, he’ll also be among the best players in the league next season.

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