Pelicans All-Star Sees In-Season Tournament Loss to Lakers as Career Turning Point

Did L.A. awake a sleeping giant?

Oct 2, 2023; New Orleans, LA, USA; New Orleans Pelicans forward Zion Williamson (1), forward Brandon Ingram (14), and guard CJ McCollum (3) pose during Pelicans media day at the Smoothie King Center. Mandatory Credit: Matthew Hinton-Imagn Images / Matthew Hinton-Imagn Images

New Orleans Pelicans All-Star power forward Zion Williamson is apparently still reeling from the massive 133-89 beatdown his club incurred at the hands of the Los Angeles Lakers during the league's inaugural In-Season Tournament in December, per William Guillory of The Athletic.

Halfway through the Las Vegas-set contest's third quarter, as the 6-foot-6 Duke product was being subbed out with the game totally out of hand, he had a revelatory moment.

“I was just looking up at the scoreboard like, ‘Damn, this isn’t us. That starts with me. I can’t be like this,’” Williamson said. “This s— can’t happen anymore.” He finished with just 13 points. L.A., of course, went on to claim the first In-Season Tournament championship in league history, going so far as hanging a banner for the achievement.

As Guillory notes, Williamson's fitness and apparent lack of urgency came under fire from critics in the immediate aftermath of that ill-fated moment.

“[The In-Season Tournament loss] was definitely one of the key turning points in the season, and honestly, for me as a man in my career,” Williamson said, per Guillory. “I’m watching [20-time Lakers All-Star forward LeBron James] out here on the court, doing what he’s doing. I’m telling myself I want to be a player that has a high level of greatness — one of the greats. In that big moment, I didn’t show up. It hit me while the game was going on. I just looked up and said, ‘I didn’t show up.’ I don’t have any excuse.”

Williamson got into better shape as the season progressed, averaging 23.9 points, 6.2 rebounds, 5.5 assists, 1.3 steals and 1.0 blocks a night across his final 30 games of the regular season, while at least putting forth more of an effort defensively.

Of course, the Lakers then beat Williamson and co. again in a play-in tournament upset. Though it was a close contest, one familiar red-flag element of Williamson's brief NBA history did make an appearance: he got hurt and had to leave the game early.

The Pelicans subsequently got swept out of the first round of the playoffs by the top-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder.

This year's New Orleans team looks significantly different. Starting center Jonas Valanciunas departed for the Washington Wizards in free agency, while the Pelicans traded to acquire former All-Star combo guard Dejounte Murray in an effort to shore up their backcourt defense next to CJ McCollum.

Los Angeles may be able to effectively school the team Anthony Davis once called home, but the top of the Western Conference is another story. The Denver Nuggets keep shedding key players from their 2023 title team, and yet they also keep shellacking the Lakers in the postseason.

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