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Imago

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Imago

In 2019, the New Orleans Pelicans selected Zion Williamson as the #1 pick. As always, big things are expected from the #1picks. And Zion Williamson was expected to hit the ground running. But it was the #2 pick Ja Morant who had won the Rookie of the Year.

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While most scouts predicted that Williamson would be the #1 overall pick in the 2019 NBA draft, there were a few who raised concerns about his weight. But most people believed that Williamson was already NBA-ready owing to his physical prowess.

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Zion has missed the 2021-22 season so far because of a right foot injury. While he is recovering well, a video of Zion doing a 360 dunk was shared. It was during the Pelicans? pre-game workout before their play-in game against the Spurs. And, it was a topic of discussion on Twitter as fans started trolling Zion?s massive weight gain during his recovery.

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Zion Williamson?s career so far

Zion Williamson shot to fame during his Spartanburg school days. Basketball fans don?t need any introduction to Zion?s unreal high school mixtape.

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Then Zion chose to go to Duke, to play for coach K. In his only season for Duke, Zion averaged 22.6 points and 8.9 rebounds per game. His field goal percentage was also phenomenal, showing how effective he can be. He was an All-American and also received the prestigious John Wooden award.

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After being drafted by the Pelicans, Zion missed the first three months of his rookie season because of an injury in his right knee. He was only available for 24 games that season. But he averaged 22.5 points in 27.8 minutes per game, which displayed his massive potential.

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In the 2020-21 season, Zion played 61 games. He averaged 27 points and 7.2 rebounds in 33.2 minutes per game. It looked like Zion was developing to be the star the Pelicans always expected him to be. He was also selected for the All-Star game that season.?But the foot injury has hampered his development by making him miss the whole of the 2021-22 season so far.?

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Zion Williamson?s return

Some fans fear that Zion Williamson might end up like Greg Oden, who was also a #1 pick. But Zion has been progressing well in his recovery. And, he has started involving in scrimmages recently. The Pelicans will face the Clippers on Friday for the 8th seed. If the Pelicans reach the playoffs, Pelicans fans will be hoping that Zion Williamson can make a comeback for the first round. Even though it hasn?t been ruled out yet, it looks unlikely.

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READ MORE: Trae Young Making a ?GOAT? Enemy Sends NBA Twitter Into Meltdown

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Written by

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Bagavathi Eswaran

1,520 Articles

Bagavathi Eswaran is a senior NBA writer at EssentiallySports, having a strong passion for the sport since the age of ten. As a former college player, Bagavathi has been following the NBA for more than a decade and has found his calling in writing about the sport. He has used his expertise in covering the NBA, as well as other arenas of the sport, to write more than 1400 articles at ES. Bagavathi's pieces on the increasingly dominant presence of European basketball and those following the journey of women-ballers are particularly noteworthy. Along with being a full-time writer, he is also a part of a group of young coaches groomed as trainers by Junior NBA. Bagavathi has trained players from schools and colleges, as well as underprivileged students who can attend the camps for free.

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Ajinkya Aswale

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