Zion Williamson arrived at New Orleans Pelicans media day on Monday in the best shape of his NBA career. He still refused to pretend the last seven years went to plan. His words set the tone for a season that could define his New Orleans tenure.
The forward weighed 277 pounds, down seven from last season, according to the team’s training camp roster. The new figure broke a seven-year run at 284 pounds.
“I’m not where I want to be,” Williamson told reporters. He added that he is also not where he needs to be.
The admission carried weight because of how his career has unfolded. Williamson entered the league as the first overall pick out of Duke in 2019. He has since missed 278 games, including the entire 2021-22 season.
Injuries and conditioning setbacks caused most of that lost time. When healthy, he has produced at a high level.
His signature is finishing through contact, then rising for highlight dunks. Williamson has averaged close to 24 points per game across his career, per league statistics.
His problem has rarely been talent. It has been availability.
What the weight loss really signals
The seven-pound drop matters less as a number and more as a habit. For seven straight seasons, the Pelicans listed Williamson at 284 pounds.
This year the figure changed, and the people around him noticed the effort behind it.
Joe Dumars runs basketball operations for the Pelicans and enters his second season in that role. He praised the forward’s commitment without softening his message.
“At some point, you just want the player to get it,” Dumars said. He said Williamson reported in “impeccable condition,” a phrase he tied to durability.
His logic was simple. A player cannot survive an 82-game season without staying in shape.
Dumars also drew a line between players who must be pushed and those who drive themselves. This year, he said, Williamson led that effort on his own.
Williamson framed the change as mental as much as physical. He makes his home in New Orleans and spent part of the summer in his native South Carolina.
He worked with new voices and studied the game from fresh angles. He said he now trusts his own work more than before.
That trust now reaches his jump shot, a weapon defenders have dared him to use. “If I miss, I miss. The next shot’s going in,” Williamson said.
A new coach and a familiar challenge
Williamson will play for his fifth head coach in Jamahl Mosley. Mosley spent the previous five seasons leading the Orlando Magic before New Orleans hired him.
In Orlando, Mosley went 189-221 and reached the playoffs in each of his last three seasons. He took over a 21-win team and built it toward the postseason.
He arrives with a reputation for connecting with players and building strong defenses. Mosley traveled to meet his new roster during the offseason.
Williamson said the coach checks in often and treats players as people first. The style matters to a player who has weathered constant change.
Mosley wants more than scoring from his star. He has asked Williamson to expand his game and become less predictable.
The coach summed up the assignment in a single question. “How do you make your teammates better?” Mosley said.
The churn at coach hints at deeper instability. Five coaches in eight seasons rarely points to a healthy franchise.
Williamson still called this offseason different, crediting stronger bonds inside the locker room.
Here is where Williamson stands entering the new season, by the numbers.
| Category | Detail |
|---|---|
| Listed weight | 277 lbs, down from 284 |
| Career games missed | 278, including all of 2021-22 |
| Career scoring average | Close to 24 points per game |
| Head coaches so far | 5, counting Mosley |
| Contract status | Two years left on his max deal |
| Last season record | 26-56 |
Why the contract talks can wait
Williamson is eligible for a contract extension this season. He has two years left on his maximum-salary deal, the richest contract the league allows.
For now, both sides have chosen patience. Dumars said the team wants to see how the year unfolds before opening talks.
He noted Williamson will be extension-eligible again in the 2027 offseason. Williamson agreed that winning should come first.
The Pelicans need that patience to turn into wins. The team finished 26-56 last season, its second straight year under 27 wins.
Dumars made few offseason moves and mostly kept the core together. New Orleans did add wing scorer Bennedict Mathurin in free agency.
Just as important, Herb Jones, Trey Murphy III and Dejounte Murray returned healthy. All three battled injuries last season, according to the team.
Camp opened its first practice on Tuesday. A healthy Williamson would change the math for the entire roster.
For Williamson, the goal sounds both smaller and larger than any stat. He wants to still wear a Pelicans jersey when the playoffs begin in April.
In eight seasons, that has never happened. The pressure now sits with results, not with promise.
Lighter and clearer about the work ahead, he sounds ready to try.
