Zion Williamson to miss start of regular season

The Pelicans will be without Zion Williamson at the start of the regular season, New Orleans executive VP of basketball operations David Griffin stated Thursday.

Griffin said there’s no timetable on the star forward’s return to action.

David Griffin says Zion Williamson underwent imaging yesterday and doctors were happy about what they saw.

There is still no timeline for his return. Zion will be checked by doctors in another two weeks.

— Will Guillory (@WillGuillory) October 14, 2021

Williamson is recovering from offseason foot surgery that sidelined him throughout the preseason. The former No. 1 overall pick has been cleared to begin running but not any “physical activities” with other players. Griffin said Williamson will have more tests in two weeks.

Griffin says Zion was cleared to start running yesterday. He still isn't allowed to do any physical activities against other players.

— Will Guillory (@WillGuillory) October 14, 2021

David Griffin says Zion Williamson said surgeons reviewed scans and he is cleared for the next step.

“No fixed timeline”for return to game action. Next scans will be 2-2.5 weeks.

Zion will not be on the floor for the first week of games.

— Andrew Lopez (@_Andrew_Lopez) October 14, 2021

On Pelicans Media Day before the start of training camp, Griffin said Williamson’s timeline “should get him back on the court for the regular season” but that obviously did not happen as hoped.

The Pelicans will play their five regular season games over the next two weeks, and Williamson will need more time once he’s cleared for full activities to be able to play in games.

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