Zion Williamson has undergone a body transformation ahead of the 2025-26 NBA season and feels his best since high school after Joe Dumars was brought in by the New Orleans Pelicans
Zion Williamson appears more conditioned ahead of the 2025-26 NBA season(Image: 2025 Getty Images)
New Orleans Pelicans star Zion Williamson has stunned fans after showing off his new physique at media day ahead of the 2025-26 NBA season.
Williamson appeared to have lost considerable weight before last season, but he only played 30 games for the Pelicans after suffering a left hamstring strain. New Orleans also handed Williamson a one-game suspension after head coach Willie Green grew frustrated with his attitude.
However, Williamson is targeting a comeback season and has taken offseason preparations seriously. “I haven’t felt like this since college, high school,” Williamson said at media day. “Where I can walk in the gym and I feel good.”
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Williamson is entering his seventh NBA season since being drafted first overall by the Pelicans in 2019. The former Duke star has averaged just 36 games per season since entering the league, with several factors leading to a lack of playing time.
The 25-year-old has battled through injury but also seen his weight and conditioning scrutinized throughout his career. Williamson appears to be taking next season more seriously than ever, after the Pelicans hired Joe Dumars as their executive vice president for basketball operations in April.
Dumars claimed that Williamson has enjoyed a “great” offseason and has been holding him accountable for fitness issues in the past. Williamson’s transformation has impressed Pelicans teammate Trey Murphy III, who said he was “slimmer than I have ever seen him during the summertime.”
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“I like Joe. What you see is what you get,” Williamson said of Dumars. “He’s going to hold me accountable, and as he holds me accountable, he’s going to give me a lot of responsibilities as well.
“I’m excited for it and I look forward to it. I know he’s going to hold me to a really high standard and if I slip up or anything, I know he’s going to be right there to make sure I get right back on path.”
Rather than taking Dumars’ guidance personally, Williamson has used it as motivation for the season ahead. “It helped a lot that they believed in me,” Williamson added.
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Despite Williamson’s transformation, the Pelicans aren’t expected to be a threat next season. However, Williamson believes that Dumars has lifted the mood inside the facility and is keen to prove critics wrong.
“I love the composition of this team,” Williamson said. “There was a time where I felt like Trey (Murphy), where I kept tabs on it, kept notes on it. But nah, that’s in the past for me.
“How I feel on it now? Whatever you said at that certain time, when we are in a certain position, you just got to stay over there. There’s no coming over here, don’t want validation.
“You don’t even have to waste your time and say, ‘Them guys really did it.’ I don’t care. You just got to stay over there.”