Sports

Despite The Pelicans’ Disaster Season, Zion Williamson Has Leveled Up His Game

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By
Ben Pfeifer
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Ben Pfeifer Sports Editor

Ben Pfeifer graduated from the University of Missouri with degrees in Psychology and Journalism. He has worked in basketball scouting covering the NBA and the draft for over a half-decade, working for various outlets. Now, he covers the NBA, the draft and high school basketball.

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Sports Editor

Published13 Mar 2025

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Zion Williamson

After trading for Dejounte Murray this summer, the New Orleans Pelicans hoped to finally break through and make serious playoff noise. However, their season unfolded into an unmitigated disaster, marred by devastating injuries to nearly all of their key players. Unbelievably, rookie Yves Missi is the only Pelican who hasn’t missed significant time.

The 18-48 Pelicans, buried in the NBA’s basement, understandably don’t garner much media attention. There are noteworthy stories here, though, chief among them being Zion Williamson’s late season resurgence. He’s missed just three games since the beginning of February and is silently returning to superstar form. 

He’s returning to form while the spotlight moves elsewhere, having the best season of his career since his breakout sophomore year. Williamson is averaging 24.4 points, 5.3 assists and 7.3 rebounds on a solid 60 percent true shooting clip. Estimated Plus-Minus views him as a top-25 player at plus-3.3, hovering near his 2021 peak. He ranks third in the NBA in points per 75 possessions (30.2), only trailing Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Giannis Antetokounmpo

A New Approach To Scoring

Williamson bludgeons defenses as a driver like few players in NBA history. Yet as his career goes on, he’s moving away from brute force driving. His rim frequency has steadily declined since his debut season in 2019-20. As a rookie, he attempted 87 percent of his shots at the hoop. That number dropped to 69 percent last season and is at a career-low 58 percent this year.

He’s replaced some of his buckets at the rim for intermediate shots, slowly expanding his game away from the basket. In 2024-25, Williamson attempts a career-high 40 percent of his shots from 4-14 feet, converting an excellent 50 percent of them. Opposite to his rim frequency, Williamson’s short midrange frequency has increased each season of his career.

More Williamson rim attacks end up in controlled, short jumpers and floaters than in past seasons. He’ll still bash his way to the hoop like the unstoppable machine he is; Williamson leads the NBA in rim attempts per 75 possessions (13.5), just as he has during every healthy season of his career.

His positive efficiency, especially given his maximized offensive load, partly stems from increased poise and comfort outside of the restricted area. He dances into the lane with his handle and footwork, hopping into low-impact pull-ups and runners. He’s avoiding contact more than ever, a trend dating back to last season and beyond.

Earlier in his career, Williamson struggled to slow down and stop his momentum on drives. He’d often crash to the basket, leading to rushed shots (plenty of which he converted) and turnovers. Compare the clips above to these three clips from 2022-23, and notice how sped up and uncomfortable he looks in this area.

Williamson never needed a true outside shooting threat to reach an enormous ceiling. He’s peaked as a top-15 player already with a nonexistent 3-point shot. The development of his midrange jumper arguably matters more, given he’ll access it and that area more than the 3-point arc on the ball.

Williamson Is Thriving As A Playmaker On Both Ends

His passing excellence this season is nothing novel. Williamson’s playmaking has been phenomenal throughout his career, helping him function as a primary initiator. Spending more time than ever on the ball this season (28 percent on-ball percentage), he’s notched career-highs in assist rate (32.2 percent) and potential assists per 100 possessions (17.1).

His career-high 0.96 assist-to-usage rate exemplifies his passing load. As always, he exploits his gravity as a scorer, finding tons of kick-out reads, transition hit-aheads and interior passes from his post-ups and drives. His playmaking contributes enormous offensive value and the Pelicans are 9.0 points better offensively per 100 possessions when he’s on the floor. That’s the highest on-off swing they’ve experienced with Williamson across his five NBA seasons.

Despite Williamson’s shifting approach, he’s as twitchy and athletic as ever. His burst is back in full force, as he explodes both horizontally and vertically in a blur. He’s channeling said energy and athleticism defensively, playing some of the better ball of his career on that end. 

Defensive metrics reinforce Williamson’s play. He’s hitting career-highs in Defensive EPM (plus-0.2, not counting his 29 games in 2022-23), steal rate (2.1 percent), block rate (3.1 percent), deflections per 100 possessions (4.5) and STOP rate (3.1 percent). He harnesses his tools on defense more than ever before, showcasing new levels of engagement and awareness.

Williamson will always carry some limitations, notably his inability to effectively cover big spaces or quickly change directions. He’s picking his spots wisely this year, weaponizing his athleticism to crowd ball-handlers and rotate in help to muck up offensive plans.

When Williamson is the primary defender, opponents shoot 8.2 percent worse at the rim, which is the best mark of his career. On and off the ball, he’s impacting shots and offensive approaches, even when he doesn’t tally blocks or steals.

It’s hard to think of this Pelicans season as anything but a disappointment. They traded away Brandon Ingram and couldn’t field a healthy roster for the entire year; Williamson, Ingram and Murray never even played a game together! There are silver linings to find, though, like the promise of a high 2025 Draft pick. But none shine brighter than Williamson’s ascension.

Hopefully, his evolving approach will lead to longer stretches of good health. Fewer reckless drives could lessen the force and impact on his lower body throughout the course of the season. This, of course, is only a theory and we’ll need concrete proof of Williamson’s sustainability (he’s only played 27 games this year). We should still appreciate the marvelous season he’s having. As long as he is on the roster, the Pelicans will always maintain an undeniable level of NBA relevancy.