Zion Williamson is a special and unique kind of player. His physical dominance and grace remind us of a shorter Shaquille O’Neal, and the New Orleans Pelicans sure hoped he turned out similar to him.
But Zion has played in less than 50% of the games since he entered the league. Off-court scandals, rumors, speculation, reports about his weight, and a never-ending string of injuries have made people question his future in this league.
However, former NBA champion John Salley believes people should just give him a break already, and he went as far as to blame the league for his injury and weight issues.
John Salley Defends Zion From Criticism
“Well, when you become a professional athlete, everything becomes a part of that profession: your intake of food, your workout regimen, your hangout regimen, your mentality of study. When you’re an NBA player, the only thing that you should do is is think about advancing as being an NBA player,” Salley said on The Inside Scoop.
“It wasn’t Zion’s fault with the weight gain,” he added. “The reason why he was going to get hurt was because we play 15 games a month in the NBA. They play 30 games a year in college. So in two months he played a college career/season and he’s played against heavier opponents. The flights are different, the environment is different.”
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Even so, Zion isn’t the only player who entered the league after one year in college, yet he seems to be one of the few who can’t shake off injury issues. At the end of the day, all we can hope for is that he’ll one day be able to stay on the court.
How Many Years Does Zion Have In His Contract?
Zion just signed a five-year contract extension worth $197,230,450. The fully guaranteed deal makes him $39,446,090 per year, and he’ll be an unrestricted free agent by the end of the 2027-28 NBA season.
