Stan Van Gundy and Zion Williamson may have had their differences during Van Gundy’s brief tenure as head coach of the New Orleans Pelicans. That doesn’t mean the former coach is going to pile on with Williamson amid numerous unflattering reports.
Williamson suffered a recent setback while trying to return from foot surgery. There have been a lot of questions about his work ethic and talk about his weight being out of control. Some people have also compared Williamson to fellow former first overall pick Greg Oden and wonder if his career could be over before it really takes off.
Van Gundy took to Twitter on Friday morning to dispute some of those narratives. He noted how Joel Embiid, who is one of the best players in the NBA, missed significantly more games than Williamson in his first three seasons.
Like Williamson and Oden, Embiid also dealt with a foot issue early in his career. There were also concerns about his weight. Van Gundy defended Williamson further and said any talk about his weight or conditioning is mere speculation. He told the critics to “calm down.”
Van Gundy’s defense of Williamson is noteworthy. He only coached the former Duke star for one season, but there were reports that Williamson pushed Van Gundy out in New Orleans. Van Gundy has had nothing but positive things to say about Zion since.
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