Report: Zion Williamson's Return Before Playoffs Eyed by Pelicans amid Injury Rehab

While injuries have been a defining concern of Zion Williamson's early career, the New Orleans Pelicans will reevaluate the star this week.

Chris Haynes of Bleacher Report reported that the Pelicans are "hopeful Williamson might be able to get a few games under his belt before the postseason."

Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium also relayed the latest on Williamson's status on The Pat McAfee Show on Monday.

"The Pelicans, I'm told, are going to be cautious with it," Charania added while noting he has participated in some low-intensity three-on-three with coaches.

(Warning: Video contains some NSFW language)

Williamson, 22, missed the entirety of the 2021-22 season with a foot injury and saw his 2022-23 season derailed by a hamstring strain suffered in January.

To this point, he's only appeared in 29 games this season. When healthy he's been superb, averaging 26.0 points and 7.0 rebounds per game while shooting 60.8 percent from the field and 36.8 percent from three.

But injuries have been the storyline of his career, with a litany of knocks costing him significant time in every single one of his four NBA seasons. At this point, the most games he's played in a campaign is the 61 he got through in the 2020-21 season.

When the Duke product was nearing a return to the court in late March, CJ McCollum wrote in a diary entry for Andscape that he thought his teammate was in a solid headspace.

The Pelicans are in eighth place in the Western Conference standings at 40-38 and would be a much more dangerous playoff threat if Williamson can return to the court.