J.J. Redick Says Zion Williamson Has Not 'Bought in to His Own Career' amid Struggles

The New Orleans Pelicans' Thursday night NBA In-Season Tournament semifinal contest against the Los Angeles Lakers presented Zion Williamson with one of the biggest stages of his career.

Williamson responded by recording just 13 points and two rebounds in a 133-89 loss.

That performance, during which Williamson at times appeared visibly tired while running, came in part because Williamson "has not bought into his own career yet," according to ESPN's JJ Redick.

"That is disappointing, because as someone who is a fan of his, a former teammate, a fellow Duke guy, I know, we all know, how great he can be," Redick said Friday on NBA Today. "We've seen those flashes of greatness."

"But to do that for an extended period of time, to reach his full potential... he's never going to get there if he doesn't buy into his own career."

After the Pelicans selected Williamson with the No. 1 pick of the 2019 draft, Redick played with the former Duke star during the 2019-20 season and part of the 2020-21 campaign.

Williamson is averaging 22.2 points and 5.6 rebounds per game through 19 starts. Both totals are good enough to rank second among all Pelicans players.

Despite that, Redick said it was clear Williamson is "not in shape."

"He's still not in shape despite everything that he's gone through, despite numerous conversations with legends of the game about being in shape," Redick said.

Redick's comments come the same day as a report from The Times-Picayune's Christian Clark, who wrote Friday that New Orleans leadership has "repeatedly stressed to Williamson that his diet and conditioning need to improve," but that Williamson "doesn't listen."

After playing just 29 games over the last two campaigns due to injury concerns, Williamson has so far been available for 19 of the Pelicans' 20 contests this season.