Zion Williamson apparently took his offseason conditioning more seriously than at any other point of his injury-marred career. While that Media Day tidbit from David Griffin was eye-opening given the obvious suggestion that Williamson wasn't training at a “professional” level in summers past, it also serves as a warning to what could await New Orleans Pelicans opponents in 2023-24—especially considering the former No. 1 overall pick's confident comments shortly thereafter.

Williamson ended his Media Day presser on Monday by being asked to provide a scouting report on himself after the best offseason of his four-year NBA career.

“Scouting report on myself?” he said, smiling. “What I worked on was being unguardable.”

Williamson has truly been one of the more “unguardable” players in league history when he's been on the floor for New Orleans, combining natural strength and power with the type of instant burst and short-area explosiveness basketball has never seen from a player his size. The two-time All-Star began fully tapping into that unique ability before going down with a season-ending hamstring injury in early January, averaging 27.5 points, 7.3 rebounds and 5.0 assists on ridiculous 63.3% shooting in his last 15 games, shouldering a heavier offensive load compared to the first few weeks of 2022-23.

How will defenses defend him if Williamson's diligent summer included adding a semi-reliable jumper? Scary.

Either way, all signs from Media Day and even summer workout sessions point to Zion Williamson playing some of the best basketball of his career once this season tips off in three weeks. The snake-bit Pelicans will have to rely on that dominance as much ever, too, with Trey Murphy III sidelined into mid-November and Larry Nance Jr. and Jose Alvarado also at risk of missing the start of 2023-24.