Zion Williamson Motivated To Lead Pelicans To Championship

Zion Williamson, New Orleans Pelicans, NBA
NBA Analysis Network

The New Orleans Pelicans are one team that a lot of people are going to keep an eye on during the 2022-23 NBA season. Despite starting the 2021-22 campaign 3-16 and being 14 games under .500 heading into February, the Pelicans earned a spot in the postseason.

They finished the season 18-14, which was good enough to sneak into the NBA Play-In Tournament. They defeated the San Antonio Spurs in the first game before knocking off the LA Clippers to earn the No. 8 seed and a matchup against the Phoenix Suns, owners of the best regular season record in the NBA.

New Orleans gave Phoenix all they could handle, losing in six games. Showing that they are capable of playing winning basketball and hanging with an upper echelon team, there is a lot of optimism surrounding them as they accomplished all of that without their best player, Zion Williamson.

Williamson missed the entire 2021-22 season because of a foot fracture suffered during the 2021 offseason. He got close to returning to the court a few times but was ultimately held out. Many people wondered if things would have been different with him in the lineup against the Suns.

LATEST NBA NEWS & TRADE RUMORS: Zion Williamson & New Orleans Pelicans Updates

Adding him to the lineup alongside Brandon Ingram and CJ McCollum gives the Pelicans a very strong core. The supporting cast around them is also very strong with the likes of Jonas Valanciunas, Herb Jones, Trey Murphy III, Devonte’ Graham, Jose Alvarado, Larry Nance Jr. and Jaxson Hayes.

This is a deep, talented team that will only get better with Williamson in the fold. After being away from the court for so long, he is motivated to help the Pelicans win some basketball games with some lofty goals.

“I’d be lying to you if I said anything less than a championship.” 

That is certainly the right mindset for Williamson to have and as one of the leaders of the team, it will hopefully trickle down to his teammates. While they may not have a roster full of household names, this is a very talented team with three All-Star caliber players and a great group of complementary players.

LATEST NBA NEWS & TRADE RUMORS: Zion Williamson & New Orleans Pelicans Updates

If Williamson can stay healthy, this is a team that will make noise in the Western Conference during the upcoming season.

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