New Orleans Pelicans star forward named one of NBA’s most overrated players originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

Few players have entered the NBA with more hype and fanfare than New Orleans Pelicans star forward Zion Williamson in recent years.

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Coming out of college, Williamson was hailed as a can’t-miss superstar with face-of-the-league potential. Unfortunately, injuries have hampered him throughout his career, and though he’s managed to remain largely healthy this season, his play appears to have plateaued.

Zion Williamson named one of the most overrated players in NBA

As a result, Williamson was recently named one of the most overrated players in the NBA this season by Greg Swartz of Bleacher Report, who cited Williamson’s declining production in relation to his contract as a main factor in his inclusion.

“Zion Williamson’s career has long been separated into two categories. He’s either healthy and one of the best players in the NBA or often hurt. This season, neither are true. … Williamson’s numbers, while still good, are the worst of his career. He’s averaging 21.6 points, 6.1 rebounds and 3.5 assists after putting up as much as 27.0 points, 7.2 rebounds and 5.3 assists in various seasons,” Swartz wrote.

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“His 6’6″ frame offers little rim protection, making a long-term partnership with Derik Queen tricky. A swing rating of plus-0.1 essentially means that the Pelicans are no better with Williamson on the floor, a concerning stat for someone who’s on a max contract.”

The fact that Williamson has been so healthy and available for the Pelicans this season is a win in itself. But, when the team drafted him with the top overall pick in 2019, the hope was that he would be both available and play at an elite level that would directly impact winning in New Orleans.

That hasn’t happened this season as the Pelicans are second-to-last in the Western Conference standings despite Williamson’s frequent availability.

Still just 25 years old, Williamson should have a lot of great basketball left ahead of him, so no one is writing him off. This season though, his production and impact on winning hasn’t matched his monster contract, which led to the “overrated” label.

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