New Orleans Pelicans Superstar Predicted for Major End of Season Award

Star forward Zion Williamson could have his best year yet as the new NBA season approaches.

Matthew Hinton-Imagn Images

The season is only a day away for the New Orleans Pelicans. 

As the NBA season officially opens tonight with two games on the slate, many are dropping their season predictions and bold takes for what we might expect over the next several months. 

Zach Haper of the Athletic dropped his 10 bold predictions in Tuesday’s editions of The Bounce, a daily newsletter from the website. In his takes, Harper had high expectations for the Pelicans superstar heading into the year. He believes that Zion Williamson will achieve a career first once the dust settles on the season. 

“Zion Williamson plays 75 games and makes All-NBA Second Team. Oh yeah. Let’s get BOLD. Zion played 70 games last season and was killer. I’ve got him for 75 games this year, and being a complete monster. He’ll make his first All-NBA team as well. Believe in Zion! Believe in his health!”

Health continues to be a looming question for the former first-overall selection, who missed all of the 2021-22 campaign due to injury. However, as Zion enters his sixth season, he looks to be already in midseason form. 

Williamson shined in his preseason minutes this year, showing that the team may be able to get off to a much faster start than they have the past few seasons. It's likely he can attribute this to 

working hard this offseason on stamina and durability while also cutting weight down to 260 pounds, showing he’s serious about making that next step in his professional career.

If he hopes to make the All-NBA team after the 2024-25 season, the North Carolina native will have to find some more production on the court as well. Last season was the worst since his rookie season in terms of scoring, as he only averaged 22.9 points per game. His field goal percentage of 57 percent was also the lowest across his four seasons in the league.  Although he created a new career high in games played, he missed the NBA All-Star game for the first time since 2020. 

There was not a time last season when Williamson sat out for two consecutive games. If the 24-year-old can stay healthy, adding five more to his workload seems entirely possible. If he does, the roster the Pelicans organization has constructed around him could make this prediction less bold. 

New Orleans will tip off their season on Wednesday at the Smoothie King Center against the Chicago Bulls. The game will begin at 8 p.m. ET.