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Williamson has been listed as 6-foot-6, 284 pounds since New Orleans selected him out of Duke with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2019 draft. His weight and fitness level have been regularly criticized, and the amount of time Williamson has missed because of injuries hasn\u2019t helped (including all of the 2021-22 season following offseason right foot surgery).<\/p>\n
After playing only 30 games last season because of a left hamstring strain and a lower back injury, Williamson reported for 2025-26 looking trim and in shape. He told reporters that he and Pelicans trainer Daniel Bove had come up with a strategy to address his fitness while rehabbing his hamstring and that he stuck to it.<\/p>\n
\u201cI haven\u2019t felt like this since college, high school,\u201d Williamson said<\/a> at the time, \u201cwhere I can walk in the gym and I\u2019m like just, \u2018I feel good.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n Williamson has played in 46 of the Pelicans\u2019 63 games this season, already the third-most games he has played in his seven NBA seasons. In a recent interview with ESPN\u2019s Malika Andrews, Williamson addressed how the past criticism affected him mentally.<\/p>\n \u201cI would say the most difficult point was when I missed my third year with a broken foot, and there was a lot of criticism on my weight, my care for the game, etc.,\u201d Williamson said. \u201cBut … while people were saying what they\u2019re saying \u2014 and everybody\u2019s entitled to their own opinion, it is what it is \u2014 I\u2019m in Portland rehabbing, not knowing if my foot\u2019s gonna heal, and it was frustrating. It was very frustrating.<\/p>\n “The most difficult point was when I missed my third year with a broken foot. … There was a lot of criticism on my weight, my care for the game. … I was really low because I just wanted to play basketball.”<\/p>\n Pelicans forward Zion Williamson on the most difficult point during\u2026 pic.twitter.com\/tf9CnsZ3VX<\/a><\/p>\n