New Orleans Pelicans star Zion Williamson caused quite the chatter for not playing in the 2023 NBA Play-In Tournament game vs. the Oklahoma City Thunder. The Pelicans ultimately lost, and an onslaught of criticism was hurled at Williamson for not playing through injury. Pelicans executive Vice President David Griffin came to the defense of his young star, reports Nola.com's Christian Clark.
“He wasn’t physically cleared to play basketball. He was playing one-on-none. He went up and windmill dunked pregame. That’s not the skill set that makes you capable of playing 5-on-5 basketball. So for people to now say, ‘He chose not to play basketball,’ that’s nonsense.”
Griffin seems to be targeting the critics that saw clips of Williamson warming up before the Pelicans play-in game Wednesday. Even if Williamson wasn't ready to play, it is interesting to wonder if the Pelicans 123-118 loss could have gone in another direction with just his presence on the court.
A lot of the scrutiny on Williamson was based on the fact that he missed a postseason game, not a regular season game. There are countless stories of legends of the NBA suiting up when they weren't 100% because it was the NBA Playoffs. Maybe Williamson really couldn't be himself out there, but it might have marked a blemish on his legacy.
In any case, the Pelicans season is now over, and David Griffin is not putting any blame on Zion Williamson for how it ended. He now has a full offseason to get his body right and try to curb the injury trend that has plagued him in the first three years of his career.
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