Stephen A. Smith has put Zion Williamson on notice, and said that the oft-injured Pelicans star is “raising suspicions” with his recent quotes about his chronic absence.
Earlier this week, Williamson, who has been out since Jan. 2, was asked if he could be ready to return for the playoffs.
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“Physically I’m fine, now it’s just a matter of when I feel like Zion,” the 2019 No. 1 overall NBA draft pick answered.
“I know the atmosphere I’d be entering based off like the playoff experience. So now it’s just a matter of when I feel like Zion.”
Williamson, 22, will miss the Pelicans’ play-in game Wednesday night against the Thunder.
The losing team’s season is over, while the winner will face the Timberwolves to decide who becomes the No. 8 seed and plays the Nuggets in the first round of the 2023 NBA playoffs.
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Speaking on ESPN’s “First Take” on Wednesday, Smith prefaced what he was about to say by pointing out how talented of a player Williamson is when healthy.
“Let me say this about Zion Williamson, and I really, really, really hope that he’s listening — this guy is a fantastic talent, very much needed, if he were in the lineup we would be speaking significantly more about New Orleans and what kind of noise they could make in the Western Conference,” Smith began.
However, Williamson played in just 24 games as a rookie in 2019-20, sat out 10 games the following year, missed all of last season, and only played in 29 games this season.
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“He’s missed 169 games in his [four-year] career and hasn’t played in at least 40 percent of his games,” Smith continued.
“You can’t make a statement like, ‘Oh, when I feel like Zion.’
“Players taught us a long time ago, ‘We never feel like we’re 100 percent. Sometimes we never feel like our fresh, completely healthy selves.”
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Smith issued a decree to Williamson that he has to be more available in the future than he’s been his first four years in the league.
“He’s gotta find a way to get back on the court. Period,” Smith said. “Because it’s starting to look very bad and it’s raising suspicions everywhere.”