Tonight, the New Orleans Pelicans will travel to Los Angeles to take on the Lakers and their former star, Anthony Davis.
On Thursday, the player who is expected to fill Davis’ shoes and become the franchise’s next star, Zion Williamson, returned to practice for the first time since having arthroscopic knee surgery shortly before the season began.
Williamson, the No. 1 pick in the NBA draft, doesn’t have a return date on the calendar just yet and still has to pass “assessments” by the team’s medical staff.
“If it was up to me, I would’ve been out there two weeks ago or something,” Williamson said after practicing. “It was just good to get back out there.”
Zion Williamson back to his first full practice today. Still no date for his return to game action. #Pelicans #WBD pic.twitter.com/yyANxhRj7g
— Karen Loftus (@kcloftus) January 2, 2020
Coach Alvin Gentry said the team needs to “see what happens after he goes through practices.”
“I know that he’s making progress. That’s the thing that matters most,” Gentry said. “He’s moving good, but obviously there’s going to always be some reservations until you get full confidence in what you’re doing. … He practiced and that’s a good start.”
Though Thursday was Williamson’s first full practice, he has been doing on-court work for some time now and should be able to hit the ground running once he’s able to make his debut.
Zion getting that bounce back slowly but surely 🤫 @Zionwilliamson (via @PelicansNBA) pic.twitter.com/xH9TVVHo6o
— Overtime (@overtime) December 29, 2019
Prior to having surgery, the 19-year-old star played in four preseason games and averaged 23.3 points and 6.5 rebounds.
His return to the lineup will be welcomed by a Pelicans squad that has won four games in a row but sits at just 11-23 in fifth place in the Southwest Division.
Subscribe here for our free daily newsletter.
Whether you’re looking to get into shape, or just get out of a funk, The Charge has got you covered. Sign up for our new wellness newsletter today.
