Using Michael Jordan To Express His Desire To Win, Zion Williamson Reminisces Over The Heartache Of Not Being Able To Play Due To Injury

In an appearance on SiriusXM NBA Radio, Zion Williamson opened up about the difficulties that he underwent while being injured. Williamson’s young career has been injury-riddled so far. However, his hamstring injury this past campaign affected the New Orleans Pelicans the most. The Louisiana side was one of the top three teams in the stacked Western Conference before the forward was ruled out for the remainder of the season.

Opening up about the struggles he had to go through, Zion Williamson also disclosed his individual goals for the upcoming season. Those who have followed the 6ft 6” star’s career know for a fact that he is a team-first type of player. Hence, when talking about his individual goals, Williamson put emphasis on the fact that he wanted the team to win. Using Michael Jordan as an example, the former Duke Blue Devil believed that individual success would be inevitable once the team was winning.

Zion Williamson spoke about the adversities he faced while being injured

Williamson has been an extremely injury-prone player. In four seasons, the southpaw only suited up for just 114 of a possible 317 games. Since getting drafted in 2019, Williamson has suffered a torn meniscus, a fractured thumb, a fractured right foot, and a hamstring strain.

It must be difficult for someone who loves the game with all heart to be sidelined and watch his team struggle. In his recent appearance, Williamson spoke about the difficulties after he sustained a hamstring injury against the Philadelphia 76ers early in the year.

“It’s like taking somebody’s favorite thing from them, like their favorite activity, what they love to do from them. You just have to sit there and watch and you can’t do nothing and it’s tough. It’s really tough, especially where we were as a team, just a unit… we weren’t even fully clicking yet. We were on our way there and it just was unfortunate. I just went down.”

The All-Star was also asked to speak about his individual goals. However, the only thing that the 23-year-old wanted was to win games.

“I want to win. As simple as that. I just want to win. You win, the individual stuff will follow. That’s how I was always taught. People pay attention to winners… Mike (Jordan), the way you look at him. That’s why people look at any legend like when you’re a winner, people remember that and I just want to win.”

The Pels can certainly achieve something great with the current roster that they have constructed. However, Williamson’s health will be the main determinant of the franchise’s success.

Williamson commits to be in shape

From what videos and photos suggest, Zion Williamson is in great shape. Not only has he shed a significant amount of weight, but he also looked pretty well-built. Take a look at Williamson’s body transformation in the embed below.

Even though Williamson did reveal that controlling his diet was a pretty difficult task, he has taken great care of his body. Having been inspired by LeBron James’ $1.5 million commitment to his body, Zion has taken all the necessary measures to prevent himself from suffering another injury.