Which NBA players face the most pressure in 2020-21?

5. Zion Williamson

Hype is a blessing and a curse. It can get you lucrative endorsement contracts and on the cover of the latest 2K. It can also bring rapid expectations much quicker than most typically experience, the type already pegging Zion Williamson as a star of both today and the future who can push the New Orleans Pelicans into the postseason.

Zion looked the part of No. 1 pick and franchise savior after making his pro debut, but that day didn’t come until late January after a torn meniscus sidelined him before the season began.

Once the league moved down to the bubble, New Orleans was the favorite to snag the west’s eighth seed with Williamson the driving force. Only the Pelicans didn’t seem interested in a postseason spot, swaddling their young star in bubble wrap to protect against future injuries. Zion never crossed the 30-minute mark in the seeding games, falling under 20 minutes in two while sitting out three others as his team ended its season with an uninspiring 2-6 finish.

New Orleans enters the 2020-21 season a new team, subtracting Jrue Holiday and Derricks Favors while adding Eric Bledsoe and Steven Adams, under new coaching in Stan Van Gundy.

A pandemic might have been able to halt their playoff push. Even in a crowded conference, no sympathy will be had for a team this talented to miss out on the postseason. Ensuring that doesn’t happen starts with Zion.

His health and conditioning were never-ending topics of conversation. His defense was lacking in ways that never occurred at Duke.

The same spotlight that’s created an unprecedented brand at an early age demands tangible results within the same time frame. For a player yet to appear in even 30 NBA games, that’s quite the double-edged sword to manage.