The news keeps getting worse for the New Orleans Pelicans.
One of two winless teams in the NBA, the Pelicans are now set to be without their star player, for at least a week. New Orleans announced Tuesday, Nov. 4 that forward Zion Williamson has been diagnosed with a grade 1 left hamstring strain and that he would be reevaluated in 7-10 days.
It’s a significant blow for the Pelicans, who have started the season 0-6 and rank dead last in net rating (-17.4). Williamson has been one of the lone bright spots and leads the team in points (22.8 per game), rebounds (6.8), assists (4.6) and steals (2.0).
Williamson, 25, has battled injury issues throughout his career. Since the start of the 2021-22 season, Williamson has played in only 134 of a possible 334 games, or just 40.1%. Just last week, he missed a game with a separate foot injury. The hamstring issue adds to his series of lower body ailments over the years that have hindered him.
Williamson worked on his body throughout the offseason and reported to training camp notably slimmed down and in the best shape of his professional career.
“I haven’t felt like this since college, high school,” Williamson said in late September. “Where I can walk in the gym and I feel good.”
Williamson is playing his sixth NBA season after being selected with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2019 NBA Draft out of Duke. (He missed the entire 2021-22 season.)
The two-time All-Star had a strong statistical campaign in 2024-25, averaging 24.6 points, 7.2 rebounds and 5.3 assists, but he again had issues being in the lineup on a consistent basis. Williamson has played more than 30 games in a season just twice since entering the league.
The Pelicans are hosting the Charlotte Hornets Tuesday night; if Williamson is sidelined for just a week, he will miss four games: against the Hornets, Mavericks, Spurs and Suns.