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Zion Williamson appears to be sending a message about his playing status.
On Tuesday, the former first-overall pick by New Orleans shared a video of himself dunking at the Pelicans’ facility amid his prolonged recovery from a fractured right foot that has kept him sidelined for the entire 2021-22 season.
Williamson was captured in the video landing hard on the same foot he underwent surgery on last summer, when he had his fifth metatarsal bone repaired. Although the 21-year-old appears to look healthy in the clip, he has not yet been cleared for team activities, let alone full-contact practice.
The Pelicans’ latest update on Williamson’s status came roughly three weeks ago, when the team said medical images showed “improved bone healing,” though the All-Star forward remained out indefinitely.
Months earlier, the organization said in December that its franchise player received a “biologic injection into the fracture site to stimulate bone healing in his right foot.”
Additionally, Williamson’s weight has also been at the forefront of recent health concerns.
Williamson’s video came as a surprise to some fans, as the Duke product hasn’t spoken about his playing status since last September — a month before the Pelicans seemed optimistic about the healing of the bone during media day in October.
With 10 games left in the regular season, it seems unlikely that Williamson will join the tenth-seed Pelicans in their fight for a spot in the play-in tournament. New Orleans is a game behind the Lakers in the ninth spot.
During the 2020-21 season, Williamson averaged 27 points in 61 games. He played in just 24 games during his rookie season in 2019-20.
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