Stephen A. Smith’s calls Pelicans’ Zion Williamson a ‘food addict’

Williamson has stood at 6-foot-6, 284 pounds since New Orleans selected him over Duke with the No. 1 pick in the 2019 draft. His weight and fitness have been regularly criticized, and the time Williamson has missed due to injuries hasn’t helped (including the entire 2021-22 season after offseason right foot surgery).

After playing in just 30 games last season due to a left hamstring strain and lower back injury, Williamson showed up for 2025-26 in top form. He told reporters that he and Pelicans coach Daniel Bove had come up with a strategy to improve his fitness while rehabbing his hamstring and that he was sticking with it.

“I haven’t felt this way since college or high school,” Williamson said at the time, “where I can walk into the gym and I’m just like, ‘I feel great.’

Williamson has played in 46 of the Pelicans’ 63 games this season, already the third-most games he has played in his seven NBA seasons. In a recent interview with ESPN’s Malika Andrews, Williamson opened up about how past criticism has affected him mentally.

“I would say the hardest time was when I missed my third year with a broken foot, and there was a lot of criticism about my weight, my worry about the game, etc.,” Williamson said. “But…while people were saying what they were saying – and everyone is entitled to their own opinion, that’s what it is – I’m in Portland in rehab, I don’t know if my foot is going to heal, and it was frustrating. It was very frustrating.

“I was weak. I was really weak because I just wanted to play basketball. I just wanted to play the game that I love, but every time you turn on the TV, every time I check my phone, it was just negative reviews, man. At the time, it was a lot, like I said, it was a lot, but it was a blessing in disguise, and I learned from it and I grew from it.”