Along the way, Williamson, who is slated to suit up against Sacramento on Wednesday night, has missed 243 of 444 regular-season games since being drafted first overall out of Duke in 2019. “Zion has dealt with a great number of challenges, some of which were sort of his own doing, quite frankly," Griffin said. “And he would tell you that.”

The New Orleans Pelicans made it through the NBA trade deadline without dealing Zion Williamson, although co-star Brandon Ingram was a victim of the league's craziest deadline ever. With Ingram getting traded to the Toronto Raptors, Williamson becomes the undoubted superstar in New Orleans, but that comes with some heavier expectations.

A few dead teams across the NBA are essentially playing for pride the rest of the way—New Orleans is one of said teams. A forgettable 2024-25 campaign began in the preseason when Dejounte Murray suffered the team’s first significant injury.