After the in-season tournament semifinal match between the Los Angeles Lakers and New Orleans Pelicans, Zion Williamson has received no mercy from the NBA media. Media personalities like Shaquille O’Neal, Charles Barkley, and Stephen A. Smith have all gone on a rant about Zion’s physique and how he is not in the best shape to play basketball.

Having heard all the noise surrounding him, Zion made a statement in his recent match against the Minnesota Timberwolves. Rumors regarding his physique were still circulating, but Los Angeles Clippers legend Lou Williams was not having any of it.

Don’t ignore Zion’s greatness because of the media narrative

Zion Williamson scored 36 points against the Timberwolves, who are the current number one defensive team in the NBA, led by Rudy Gobert, who is in contention for his fourth defensive player of the year title.

As a narrative was being built in the media to shift focus on Zion not taking care of himself, NBA legend Lou Williams recently put that talk to rest after Zion’s monster performance.

During an episode of Run It Back, while Shams Charania was talking about Zion not showing a similar aggressiveness against the Lakers because he is out of shape, Williams said, “This kid has been battling injuries right, 36 points last night, big time win… Why are we having anything negative to say about this kid because somebody else wants to put a narrative that this kid is fat?”

Williams explained that people should be happy with how well Zion is playing. He is currently averaging 22.9 PPG, 5.6 RPG, and 4.7 APG. According to Willaims, just because he is bigger than everyone else does not mean that Zion is completely out of shape and is not disciplined.

Is Zion Williamson not taking it seriously?

According to many reports, the Pelicans have been stressing the significance of diet and conditioning to Zion, but he has not been disciplined and has not fully dedicated himself to them. Having struggled to manage his weight, he has suffered from several lower body injuries in his career so far.

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While the entire team has been focused on helping Zion achieve his full potential, reports often say that Zion has not been following the scheduling and, at times, even stays away from proper communication and cooperation.

But it is still too early to determine how things will turn out. Zion is just 23 years old and is already one of the best players in the world. As he gets more mature and realizes that he has to take care of himself, it won’t be long before he shows everyone why he was such a highly touted prospect.

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What do you think of the recent backlash against Zion Williamson? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!