Former Duke basketball superstar Zion Williamson showed no signs of rust in his first practice back with the New Orleans Pelicans inside the NBA’s bubble.
Basketball is back, sort of.
Teams down in the NBA’s bubble in Orlando, Florida have been allowed to return to the court, and the 22 teams are conducting their first team workouts since mid-March.
One of those teams looking to have a long stay in the Sunshine State is Zion Williamson and the New Orleans Pelicans.
Possibly outside of LeBron James, Williamson is gathering the most hype in his return to the floor as the two stars could potentially meet in the first round of the playoffs if everything falls in favor of the Pelicans.
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However, the newly minted 20-year old looked like he didn’t miss a beat as video cameras caught the dunking sensation up to his old tricks in New Orleans’ first practice.
Zion Williamson (23.6 PPG 6.8 RPG) gets buckets at @PelicansNBA practice! #WholeNewGame pic.twitter.com/enpivrPYp2
— NBA (@NBA) July 11, 2020
In just 19 games played in his rookie season because of a knee injury, Williamson is averaging 23.6 points, 6.8 rebounds, and 2.2 assists per game as the Pelicans currently sit tied for ninth place in the Western Conference.
The former Duke basketball one-and-done said he continued to work out in the weight room and on the court during the NBA’s suspension of play in preparation for the possibility that the league would restart its season.
New Orleans is in a deadlock with the Portland Trail Blazers and Sacramento Kings, who all trail the Memphis Grizzlies by 3.5 games.
Things have currently fallen on the side of the Pelicans with the schedule the NBA gave them, and the difficult slate of games the teams ahead of them in the standings are facing.
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Zion Williamson and his teammates will have the privilege of opening the restart of the season on July 30 against the Utah Jazz in the first game of the doubleheader, which also features the Los Angeles Lakers and Los Angeles Clippers.
As a team currently on the outside of the playoffs, each game will be critical for New Orleans as each team in the restart will only have eight games to try and make a push for the playoffs.