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Lou Williams declares Pelicans star Zion Williamson’s window ‘closed’

Originally posted on NBA on ClutchPoints | Last updated Dec 18, 2025 8:21 AM ET

Zion Williamson’s career has been incredibly frustrating for fans to follow. The first overall pick in the 2019 NBA Draft, Williamson was drafted with the potential to be an all-time great. His explosive athleticism, finishing prowess, and fluidity in motion made him a can’t-miss prospect, and the New Orleans Pelicans banked on his talents by taking him in the draft.

Unfortunately, Williamson hasn’t realized his talents fully throughout his career. While the Pelicans star would show flashes of his insane ceiling, these flashes would be brief and sporadic. That’s mostly due to Williamson struggling to stay on the court due to injuries.

This season, Williamson has already missed 16 games due to an adductor strain he suffered earlier this season and a hamstring strain. The Pelicans star is already in danger of missing out on an All-Star selection this season. That being said, former NBA player Lou Williams said that Williamson has already missed his window to rack up All-Star selections.

“I think the window is closed for Zion [Williamson].”

Lou Williams says that it will be HARD for Zion to make another All-Star team

(via @RunItBackFDTV)
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— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) December 18, 2025

Williamson has been selected to two All-Star games back in the 2020-21 and 2022-23 seasons. Since then, though, Williamson has not gotten back to that level yet. His last fully healthy season was during the 2023-24 season, where the Pelicans star played 70 games and averaged 22.9 points, 5.8 rebounds, and five assists per game. Since then, Williamson has struggled to see the floor, playing in just 30 games this season.

Williamson had an excellent start to the season, giving fans hope that this would be the year that the Pelicans star would piece together a solid season. However, injuries have once again derailed his season. Williamson is averaging 21.7 points, 5.6 rebounds, 3.4 assists, and a whopping 1.5 steals per game through 11 games played.

This article first appeared on NBA on ClutchPoints and was syndicated with permission.

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