Zion Still Faced With Long Road Back to Full Effectiveness

The Pelicans cleared star forward Zion Williamson for full basketball activities on Friday, Nov. 26, a big hurdle in his quest to return from the Jones fracture in his right foot he suffered during the offseason. 

Because of the nature of the fracture, combined with his unique, football-like build and playing style, the injury is challenging to recover from, and we expect that the Pelicans will be cautious in Williamson’s return. The bottom line is the former No. 1 pick will be on a strict minutes restriction, and will not play back-to-back games, similar to how they handled his shortened rookie season as he recovered from a torn right meniscus. 

Although he has been cleared, it doesn’t mean the foot is 100%, and the fact that it is a stress fracture means that the bone will be slow to heal due to a lack of blood flow. 

The third-year forward suffered the fracture early in the offseason and underwent surgery in September. At his media day press conference on Sept. 27, general manager David Griffin said he was optimistic the 21-year-old would be on the court for the start of the regular season, although we have been pessimistic from the get-go that it would be a long crawl back.

The Pelicans will relish his return, as they currently have the second-worst record in the West at 4-16 – and 8-12 against the spread – and are +1300 to make the playoffs, according to FanDuel Sportsbook.