Once upon a time, Zion Williamson was considered to be one of the best prospects to ever step foot in the NBA.
He’s an explosive talent who can efficiently contribute on both ends of the floor. His intimidating size and strength often overpowered a huge chunk of NBA players.
Zion Williamson Opens Up About the Trials in His Career
However, due to a plethora of injuries throughout his career, Williamson never had the opportunity to take off in the manner that everyone expected him to. The 2019 first overall pick recently opened up about the challenges he had to face in his career.
Williamson is now playing in his sixth NBA season. While he’s technically been in the league for seven years, he was forced to miss the entirety of the 2021-22 season due to a fractured right foot.
In a recent interview, the New Orleans Pelicans star revealed that his third year in the league was when his career was at its lowest.
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“The most difficult point was when I missed my third year with a broken foot.” Williamson shared. “There was a lot of criticism on my weight, my care for the game. But the whole time, I’m looking at the doctor and the doctor is telling me, ‘Yeah, we’re going to perform this surgery, but if this surgery doesn’t work, we really don’t know the next step.'”
“It was frustrating,” Williamson added. “I was really low because I just wanted to play basketball. I just wanted to play the game I love, but every time you turn the TV on, every time I check my phone, it was nothing but negative criticism. At the time, it did a lot. But it was a blessing in disguise. I learned from it and I grew from it.”
“The most difficult point was when I missed my third year with a broken foot. … There was a lot of criticism on my weight, my care for the game. … I was really low because I just wanted to play basketball.”
Pelicans forward Zion Williamson on the most difficult point during… pic.twitter.com/tf9CnsZ3VX
— ESPN (@espn) March 2, 2026
Since then, Williamson has done everything he could to try to be in the best shape of his career.
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When he came into the league in 2019, the Pelicans star weighed in at nearly 300 pounds, making him one of the heaviest players at the time.
Fast forward to the present day, Williamson is typically playing at between 264 and 271 pounds according to sources, having lost between 25 and 30 pounds since his rookie campaign.
