Everybody around the league is talking about Zion Williamson again. The former first-overall pick has played in one-third of his possible games since entering the NBA, and it seems like he bailed on the New Orleans Pelicans.
He was spotted doing windmill dunks before the Play-in Tournament game vs. the Oklahoma City Thunder, but he didn’t play because he reportedly didn’t feel confident enough to be back on the floor.
That didn’t sit well with plenty of guys around the league. That includes former NBA champion Stephen Jackson, who thinks he’s risking losing the respect of his teammates for not even trying.
Stephen Jackson Calls Out Zion Williamson For Not Trying To Play
“He’s missed a lot of games, bro. Got his money, right? At this point, let’s just see what you got,” Jackson said. “If you just can’t go and it’s looking that bad, yeah we’ll shut you down. I don’t think being off and rehabbing, whatever you’ve been doing, has done anything for you because you’ve been out for so long.”
“At this point, if you’re somewhat healthy where you think about playing and you’re not confident mentally, you gotta go out there and play and get the confidence by playing and see what you can do,” Jackson added.“Sitting there thinking about it, if you don’t know, go ahead and give it a shot… I think your teammates will respect you more if you try to give it a shot. This is the playoffs. This is not pre-season. We have a shot to do something great.”
It’s a shame, but it feels like the Pelicans need to plan without Zion for the future. If he’s available, then great, so be it. But they can’t put all their stock on someone who’s never healthy when it matters.