During the Los Angeles Lakers’ trip to face the New Orleans Pelicans, Lakers forward Anthony Davis had the opportunity to briefly chat with the Pelicans star rookie Zion Williamson.
Both Davis and Williamson were the top overall selections by the Pelicans in their respective NBA drafts, with Davis being chosen in 2012 and Williamson being selected this past June. One key difference is that Williamson has yet to take the court in the regular season because of an injury, with Davis offering some simple advice.
“I told him to get healthy,” Davis said. “Obviously, they’re waiting on his return and they’re trying to hold on until he gets back.”
During the latter portion of the preseason, Williamson suffered a right knee injury that required arthroscopic surgery to fix a torn lateral meniscus. At the time of the surgery, Williamson was expected to be out between six to eight weeks, which potentially means that he could return in the next few weeks.
In his absence, the Pelicans have only won six of their first 18 games.
Like Davis at the start of his own NBA career, Williamson has been portrayed as a game-changing player who could turn the Pelicans into title contenders. That scenario never materialized for Davis, whose frustration with the situation in New Orleans resulted in a trade to the Lakers shortly before the Pelicans chose Williamson.
The fact that Davis essentially forced the Pelicans to trade him was the chief reason why he was the subject of booing by fans in the Lakers’ Wednesday night game in New Orleans. Despite that reception, Davis delivered a strong performance in helping the Lakers to a 114-110 victory that improved their record to 16-2 on the year.
Davis scored 41 points, collected nine rebounds and picked up three steals in the win. That continues a strong start that also has him leading the league with 2.8 blocked shots per game.
Williamson certainly has the potential to offer up similar statistics in the years ahead, but until he’s able to get back on the court, that potential is not offering the Pelicans much help.
