Sports injury doctor Dr. Brian Sutterer is concerned by what he's seeing from New Orleans Pelicans rookie Zion Williamson in Orlando, Florida.
In an interview with Ethan Strauss of The Athletic, Dr. Sutterer says Williamson's “athleticism and conditioning have regressed substantially.”
“He’s in a race against his own body,” Dr. Sutterer said about Zion Williamson.
“If you go watch his Duke highlights compared to now, the difference is profound. In my opinion, his athleticism and conditioning have regressed substantially. He’s less explosive, less conditioned, slower on defense, has already had a portion of his meniscus removed from his knee after an injury, and he’s still under close monitoring from the medical staff.
“I feel like nobody really wants to call it like we all see it. He’s trying to reverse a career trajectory that by the Pelicans’ own admission is worrisome as evidenced by his ‘reprogramming’ and scrutinized minutes. He had four months to start making positive strides and to me he’s regressed more. When will he finally start to reverse course? Will it be in time before more substantial fitness concerns and injuries limit him and threaten his career? Instead of outpacing these risks, I’m worried that Zion is losing the race.”
Williamson began his NBA career by going under the knife to address a torn meniscus. However, the new face of the Pelicans franchise looked like a superstar in the 19 games he played in before the 2019-20 season was suspended in March after recovering from his surgery.
That's why Pelicans fans were looking forward to seeing Williamson in action at Disney World since he said he used the hiatus to get in better shape.
However, Zion doesn't look like he's in elite game shape right now and the Pelicans have only won once at Orlando as a result.
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