It’s no secret that Zion Williamson has faced some criticism for unhealthy eating habits since arriving in the NBA. Some even believe that it’s what has caused his unfortunate string of injuries over the years. But his former teammate Dyson Daniels spilled the beans on whether the rumors are true or not.
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Back in 2023, Stephen A. Smith went on one of the most unhinged rants on ESPN ever. He aired out Zion for his conditioning and eating habits at the time. It wasn’t long before team officials came out confirming their concerns over Williamson’s conditioning and long-term health.
However, many disregarded the comments and claimed Zion’s run of injuries was just bad luck. After all, he tore his meniscus in 2019, broke his foot in 2021, had a hamstring strain in 2022, and most recently, a lower back contusion forced him to miss most of 2025. It’s hard to say if any of those injuries occurred because of bad conditioning.
One of those defenders is his former teammate Dyson Daniels, who joined the Ausmerican Aces podcast when the topic of Zion’s health came up.
“What is the biggest meal you’ve seen him consume?” the interviewer asked.
“Zion,” Daniels said, chuckling. “That’s the thing, he’s not fat. Like he’s built, he’s strong, he’s a tank. He’s just had a bad run with injuries. Zion’s my guy, and I see him eat good food. I see him look after his body, recover, and stuff. And yeah, he’s just been unlucky with injuries, and I want to see him out there healthy because his talent is off the charts.”
It might come as a surprise to some to hear that Zion eats healthy and takes care of his body behind closed doors. But that’s what an NBA training regimen can do for a player. Surely, Williamson has some of the best training staff in the world giving him health advice.
When he establishes a sense of health, Daniels says his former Pelicans teammate is one of the best players in the league.
“I’ve never seen anyone do what he does,” Daniels marvelled. “Someone who doesn’t have the shooting down pat, that just gets to the rim at will. It’s insane to see, and you don’t really see it until you play with him. And everyone in the league will tell you f**king he’s one of the hardest players to guard. He’s so strong, so athletic- it’s insane. His explosive power.”
Many players have echoed what Daniels says in the past, like LeBron James and Giannis Antetokounmpo. It’s just unfortunate he hasn’t been able to stay healthy and show off his explosiveness too often. But when he is healthy, oh boy, is Zion Williamson a treat to watch.
However, when the interviewer asked if this explosive power could be a reason as to why Zion gets hurt so much, here’s what Daniels had to say:
“Yeah, I think it’ll go into it. When you are, what, 280 pounds? Jumping out of the gym, you’re more vulnerable to get injured. I don’t know what you do. Whether to do injury management with him, but I just want to see him healthy and out there playing because he’s a beast.”
We all want to see Zion healthy at this point. It’s been sad to see him have to sit on the sidelines while the Pelicans could use his help. He could be the key piece that they need to make a playoff run.
Last season, Zion Williamson almost single-handedly sent LeBron and the Lakers packing in the NBA Play-In Tournament, but an untimely injury saw him walk off the floor, and let the Lakers grab the 7 seed. It was a reminder of how dominant he can be at times. Maybe if he can find a way to stay healthy for a prolonged period, we’ll one day be viewing him in a different light.
