Pelicans' Zion Williamson to Play Center at Times During 2023-24 NBA Season, HC Says

The New Orleans Pelicans might be a bit more versatile in 2023-24 if Zion Williamson can play center in small-ball lineups.

Head coach Willie Green told reporters the plan is to play Williamson at center at times this season, which could help him get the ball more in pick-and-roll scenarios. It will mark quite the change for the Duke product, as Basketball Reference lists him as playing just five percent of his minutes at the position to this point in his career.

Playing Williamson at center would give Green more options to mix-and-match forwards such as Brandon Ingram, Herbert Jones, Trey Murphy III (when healthy), Naji Marshall and Larry Nance Jr. in different lineups.

Yet the most important thing this season for Williamson is staying healthy.

He appeared in just 29 games in 2022-23 after missing the entire 2021-22 campaign. He also played just 24 games as a rookie in 2019-20.

There is no doubt he can be among the league's best players when he is healthy, as evidenced by his career numbers of 25.8 points, 7.0 rebounds and 3.6 assists per game and a field-goal percentage of 60.8.

Those numbers might be even better after the upcoming season if he can take advantage of favorable matchups from the center position.