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The conversation concerning Zion Williamson’s weight has firmly fallen under the “Derogatory” umbrella in recent years. However, it’s suddenly shifted to the “Complimentary” end of the spectrum now that he’s undergone an impressive transformation ahead of his sixth season with the Pelicans.
Zion Williamson had already earned the “Generational Talent” label ahead of his freshman season at Duke in 2018, and he certainly lived up to it during a one-and-done campaign that led to the Pelicans selecting him with the first overall pick in the 2019 NBA Draft.
However, things have not really panned out as most people hoped since he made the leap. The big man has certainly shown plenty of flashes of brilliance, but his career has been derailed by a string of injuries that have led to him suiting up for just a little more than half of the games he’s theoretically been eligible for over the course of his first five seasons in the league.
It’s been impossible to talk about those setbacks without discussing the fitness issues that have been a hot topic of conversation over the past few years.
The 6’6″ forward has been officially listed at 284 pounds during his time with the Pelicans, but that number reportedly ballooned to as high as 330 after the foot injury that sidelined him in 2021. The franchise was concerned to the point where it included a weight clause capped at 295 lbs. in the contract he signed in 2022, and while he has gone through stretches where he appeared to meet that requirement, there have also been others where it was pretty obvious he’d failed to.
That history of fluctuation does make it a bit hard to get too excited about his most recent transformation, but it’s also hard to blame Pelicans fans for being optimistic after getting a glimpse at Williamson’s new physique heading into the season.
Zion Williamson shed light on the strategy he harnessed to slim down ahead of the 2025-26 NBA season
Matthew Hinton-Imagn Images
On Tuesday, the members of this year’s Pelicans squad gathered for the photo shoots and press conferences at the center of the team’s annual media day, and it was hard not to be impressed by how Williamson looked when he rolled up.
He acknowledged he turned the corner in the offseason with the help of a new exercise regimen he says has him feeling the best he has since he was a Blue Devil, which is a pretty promising development when you consider how he played during his time in Durham.
“I haven’t felt like this since college.”
Zion says he’s back to feeling like Duke Zion after boxing and football workouts this summer 💯🔥
(Via @PelicansNBA) pic.twitter.com/6l1K6s8VFH
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) September 23, 2025
He provided some insight into the approach, saying:
“We came up with a plan, from boxing to working out on the football field a lot to just different random workouts… I really felt a shift in my body to where I would look at [my trainer] and go, ‘Dude, it feels good to feel good.’
I haven’t felt like this since college, high school; where I can walk in the gym and I’m like, ‘I feel good.'”
Williamson has shown he can be one of the most electric players in the NBA when he’s firing on all cylinders, so here’s to hoping that ends up being the case this year.