The New Orleans Pelicans’ tough begin took one other damaging flip Tuesday when star ahead Zion Williamson was recognized with a proper adductor damage that may sideline him for at the least three weeks, in keeping with ESPN’s Shams Charania.
Williamson, who has averaged 22.1 factors, 5.6 rebounds, and 4.0 assists in 10 video games this season, had solely just lately returned to motion. He got here again on Nov. 19 after lacking simply over two weeks with a Grade 1 left hamstring pressure, showing in 5 of the Pelicans’ previous seven video games earlier than sustaining the adductor damage — an ailment anticipated to maintain him out for a considerably longer stretch.
The setback deepens an already grim outlook for a Pelicans group sitting on the backside of the Western Convention at 3–18 and coping with one of many NBA’s longest damage lists. Since being drafted No. 1 total in 2019, accidents have shadowed almost each section of Williamson’s profession, and this newest one lands at a second when New Orleans’ season is already sinking.
Zion Williamson eleventh grade mixtape is a type of you gotta see it to consider it kind of movies 😲😲 He was ONLY 16 pic.twitter.com/XkgQo2LOK9
— Ballislife.com (@Ballislife) November 29, 2018
Pelicans Already Quick-Handed Earlier than the Newest Setback
Earlier than Williamson’s prognosis, New Orleans had been leaning closely on its depth out of necessity. Seven Pelicans missed Sunday’s loss to the Lakers, together with 4 starters, because the group continues to cycle by accidents to Trey Murphy III (elbow), Herb Jones (calf), Jordan Poole (quad), Jordan Hawkins (sickness), Karlo Matković (calf), and Dejounte Murray (Achilles).
Interim head coach James Borrego addressed the fact of competing shorthanded after Los Angeles opened with a 46-point first quarter and finally prevailed, 133–121.
In describing how his group responded after falling behind early, Borrego mentioned the Pelicans confirmed one thing he needs to see extra of.
“I liked the resiliency, the toughness,” Borrego mentioned. “Principally tied the second quarter, received the third, received the fourth, saved battling, by no means gave in. … I like our response after the primary quarter. It’s the response I’m most targeted on.”
Regardless of the loss, Bryce McGowens produced a career-best 23 factors, Saddiq Bey posted 22 factors and 11 rebounds, and Jeremiah Fears added 21. However the bigger cloud was Williamson’s sudden shift from a manageable hamstring problem to dealing with one other multi-week absence.
A Season Tilting Towards Bother — And a Pricey Draft Actuality
The Pelicans’ slide has been steep. Twelve losses of their previous 13 video games have dropped them to a league-worst 3–18. On 2025 draft evening, New Orleans despatched Atlanta the No. 23 choose within the 2025 draft and its unprotected 2026 first-round choose, a range generally famous on cap sheets as “extra favorable of NOP and MIL” however functionally giving the Hawks management of the Pelicans’ 2026 slot. That file presently positions them for the perfect odds on the No. 1 total choose within the 2026 NBA Draft.
That context intensifies the affect of Williamson’s absence. The Pelicans can not meaningfully profit from a misplaced season, and with their star sidelined for at the least three weeks — and certain extra, given the character of adductor strains — their possibilities of stabilizing diminish additional.
Borrego, whose rotation has been stretched skinny, emphasised the mindset required to navigate the present storm.
“I feel finally we’re simply leaning into our character,” he mentioned. “You have got a selection. It is a selection proper now. You would give in and select to not struggle, to not compete, say, ‘woe is us’. Or you have got a option to go on the market and compete and struggle.”
The struggle is there — the depth just isn’t. Luka Dončić torched New Orleans on Sunday with 34 factors, together with 20 within the first quarter, because the Pelicans shortly fell behind by double digits. With out Williamson and Trey Murphy III, New Orleans struggled to generate sufficient scoring to match the tempo.
Williamson’s re-evaluation timeline pushes his earliest potential return into late December, however the Pelicans’ gap could also be too deep by then. And with their 2026 choose heading to Atlanta, the franchise can not merely fall again on lottery hope.
A take a look at Zion Williamson’s damage/sickness historical past since being drafted by the Pelicans, per @FOXSports:
Date Harm/illness12-25 Hip11-25 Hamstring10-25 Foot3-25 Back1-25 Illness1-25 Hamstring11-24 Hamstring10-24 Illness4-24 Hamstring4-24 Finger2-24…
— Jeff Duncan (@JeffDuncan_) December 2, 2025
A Acquainted, Pricey Sample
The Pelicans entered the season with hopes of stability — a wholesome Williamson, a revamped roster, and optimism round new management. As an alternative, the franchise finds itself caught in the identical repeating cycle: flashes of promise derailed by mounting accidents and unanswered questions concerning the future.
Williamson’s expertise stays unquestioned. His availability, as soon as once more, doesn’t. And because the absences accumulate, so do the broader implications. Any theoretical pivot — together with the opportunity of ultimately exploring Williamson’s commerce worth — turns into more and more difficult. Leaguewide curiosity in a former No. 1 choose with All-NBA upside would usually be important, however repeated accidents, long-term sturdiness issues, and a large contract make it tough to examine a strong market forming proper now.
With New Orleans already sliding and one other prolonged absence looming, this can be the damage that pushes the season previous the purpose of restoration — and leaves the Pelicans with fewer clear paths ahead than ever.
