The New Orleans Pelicans played it safe with Zion Williamson during his first season in the NBA. He was the first-overall pick and coming off an injury during his lone year at Duke University, so it was only normal to see them being cautious early on.
Williamson was held out for most of lastseason while getting his conditioning up and rehabbing his injured knee. He sat some back-to-backs and was on a strict minutes restriction, even when their season was on the line.
Now, Zion has a longer leash under coach Stan Van Gundybut the team continues to take it slowly with him. Heās clearly aspecial talent with MVP potential, so they wonāt risk a career-jeopardizing injury so early on his journey as a professional.
Karl Malone Rips Zion Williamson For āGetting Tiredā
Notably, Zion Williamson has looked gassed and tired from time to time, especially at the end of last season. Clearly, he still needs to make some strides and get in better shape to make the most of his potential and not risk injury, given his huge frame.
Thatās why formerUtah Jazz star Karl Malone took a shot at him, claiming that he shouldnāt be getting tired at 21-years-old, saying that he should be averaging roughly 40 minutes per game at this point:
āZion needs to be averaging like 40 minutes per gameā¦ youāre a 21 year old kidā¦ your a** shouldnāt be getting tired,ā the legendary power forward said in an interview with the āKnucklehadsā Podcast.
Whatās crazy is that Zion Williamson is actually averaging 32.8 minutes per game, while Karl Malone played just 30.0 minutes a night when he was his age. Still, he finished his career as the 2nd leading scorer in NBA history, so perhaps itās too early to call out Zion just yet.
