It’s to great disappointment that we haven’t seen Zion Williamson make his NBA debut yet this season. Of course, the New Orleans Pelicans are being sensible to play it safe with their star prospect following preseason knee surgery — there’s nothing worth jeopardizing his long-term health for this season — but after all of the hype, everybody wants to see Zion.
He’s getting close. Recent injury updates have Zion participating in 5-on-5 work at practice, and it looks like a January return hasn’t been ruled out. The best development yet? Zion’s back to throwing down between-the-leg yams in warm-ups again.
This will tide us over, until he’s back for real. According to ESPN's Brian Windhorst, the Pelicans are actually positioning themselves as buyers ahead of the trade deadline with hopes of making a push towards the No. 8-seed, so they might take off the kiddie gloves with Zion as well once he’s back.
Is it too late in the season to get Zion in the dunk contest? The No. 2 pick from last year’s draft after Zion, Ja Morant, is reportedly considering an invite from the league, and he has already been a standout from this year’s rookie class with some show-stopping jams. Zion versus Ja in the dunk contest really would be the perfect matchup.
