New Orleans Pelicans star Zion Williamson's weight has been a hot topic of conversation for a long time. It gained even more relevance when it was recently revealed that Williamson's new $193 million max contract with the Pelicans has a clause in it requiring weigh-ins throughout the deal to measure his combined weight and body fat percentage. If that combo exceeds 295, his guaranteed money can be reduced.
Williamson has certainly heard a lot of the talk about his weight. While he understands why it's a thing, Will Guillory of The Athletic reports “people around Williamson maintain the constant ridicule he’s dealt with annoys him just as much as you’d expect.” Guillory goes on to say that the annoyance isn't as much from “fat jokes,” which he has heard throughout his career, but rather “it truly bothers him because people use his apparent weight gains in the past as proof that Williamson doesn’t like to work or doesn’t care about doing what’s necessary to be great.”
It's totally understandable for Zion Williamson to feel this way, though it doesn't seem as if he's actually upset with this clause being in the contract. The Pelicans phenom had to expect something like this would be a part of negotiations. He's now doing everything he can this offseason to get into better shape for the upcoming 2022-23 season after missing all of last season. The Pelicans star was listed at 284 pounds last season but has reportedly been over 300 pounds at multiple points throughout his career, likely because injuries hindered his ability to keep his weight in check. Now that he's healthy again, he's putting in the work to get that weight down.
Williamson is surely never going to look slim because of his unique body. However, he can still weigh a lot but get his body fat percentage down, which would be a good indicator that he's in much better shape. This is going to be a big season for Zion Williamson and the Pelicans, and he's ready to prove all the doubters wrong.
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