Although the New Orleans Pelicans have gotten off to a rough start to the 2026-27 season, Zion Williamson is at least having a bounce-back season. He has been healthy to start the year and is putting up strong numbers despite previous injury concerns.
He has played all five of the team's games, and he's averaging more than impressive 21.8 points and 4.2 rebounds per game. That might be down from his peak of 27 points and 7.2 rebounds in 2020-21, but him putting up strong numbers while staying healthy is at least an encouraging sign.
To his credit, he looks slimmer than he did in previous years, and while he only played 62 games last season, he did play 51 out of 52 games at one-point last season. That suggests that he can stay relatively healthy, and if he can, it gives the Pelicans at least a semblance of hope.
Zion Williamson is giving Pelicans fans a reason to hope
At this point in his career, he isn't going to be a franchise player for them, but he can still be a very good player. If he can have a strong first half of the season, it could raise his trade value and make him a potential trade target for a contending team in need of a boost.
That could give the Pelicans plenty of options. Right now, they don't have many options. They are simply married to Zion and stuck hoping that he can live up to his significant potential.
With him having shown promise, he will hopefully help the Pelicans in the short term and potentially give them a massive potential trade chip in the long term.
The Pelicans need Zion Williamson to regain his value
It's surprising that at this point in his career, Zion isn't a top 10 player in the NBA given the amount of hype surrounding him when he was drafted in 2019.
In fact, he was recently ranked as just the 56th-best player in the NBA by ESPN. That is simply based on his production and lack of availability, but not his talent.
Zion is slowly but surely turning doubters into believers, and the more he plays, the more value he gains and the better the Pelicans will play.
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