Zion Williamson made waves last week after televsion cameras caught him taking a brief little nap during the fourth quarter, as his New Orleans Pelicans tried to hold a lead against the Detroit Pistons.
The prized No. 1 overall selection wasn't taking part in the action, instead wearing a blazer and watching from the bench, but his lack of attention to the action on the court was somewhat concerning, as a player and as a teammate.
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On the eve of his NBA debut on Wednesday against the San Antonio Spurs, the rookie briefly addressed what went on during last Monday's game, joking that he was actually meditating, not falling asleep during his team's game:
“Y’all might have seen me meditating on the sidelines,” said Williamson, according to ESPN's Andrew Lopez.
If it was indeed meditation that Williamson was doing, it wasn't a very focused effort, as his eyes opened and closed as Pistons big man Christian Wood went to the line for the second of two foul shots with the Pelicans leading by three points with 1:52 left.
Plenty of NBA players have taken a little nap on the bench when the game was out of hand and the rout was in full effect, but the Pelicanss were fighting for that win, which is now one of 11 wins in their last 15 games — bouncing back strongly from a season-worst 13-game skid. The optics of Williamson losing focus on the bench, whether he was playing in the game or not, are not great.
Williamson, the former Duke star who was the No. 1 overall pick in the 2019 NBA Draft, has yet to play this season as he underwent surgery to repair a torn meniscus shortly before the start of the year after a dazzling performance in the preseason.
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