Pelicans’ Zion Williamson Cleared To Return Without Restriction

Pelicans power forward Zion Williamson has been medically cleared to make his return to full basketball activities, nearly one full year after suffering an offseason foot injury.

Williamson was the No. 1 overall pick out of Duke in 2019. He has spent an inordinate amount of time on the injured list, but has been wildly productive when he’s played.

On the bright side for Williamson, the Pelicans seem to be on the rise behind the likes of Brandon Ingram and CJ McCollum, acquired at the trade deadline. In fact, McCollum may have had his best stretch as a pro after the Pelicans landed him from the Trail Blazers in February.

Update on Zion:

Recent imaging of Williamson’s right fifth metatarsal showed continued improvement.

Williamson has been cleared in his return to play progression without any restrictions. pic.twitter.com/xZAtf9lyVn

— New Orleans Pelicans (@PelicansNBA) May 26, 2022

Anyway, back to Williamson. The idea of him teaming with Ingram and McCollum is something that clearly excites the Pelicans, who qualified for the playoffs via the play-in tournament. They then lost in the first round to the Suns.

He averaged 27.0 points and 7.2 rebounds in 61 games in 2020-21, before suffering the foot injury playing basketball over the summer.