Pelicans' situation goes from bad to worse with Zion Williamson injury news

New Orleans Pelicans star Zion Williamson has suffered a Grade 1 left hamstring strain, according to the team, which announced Tuesday that the former No. 1 overall pick will be reevaluated in approximately seven-to-10 days.

That timeline suggests Williamson will be sidelined for upcoming games against Charlotte (Tuesday), Dallas (Wednesday), San Antonio (Saturday) and Phoenix (next Monday), and could miss additional time beyond that.

Hamstring issues are nothing new for Williamson, who has now been forced to miss time in each of the last four seasons due to a hamstring injury, as Will Guillory of The Athletic notes. The 25-year-old forward was limited to just 30 outings in 2024-25 as a result of hamstring and back problems.

Zion Williamson's strong start hasn't helped Pelicans

Williamson appeared in five of the Pelicans’ first six games to open this season and performed well, averaging 22.8 points, 6.8 rebounds, 4.6 assists and 2.0 steals per game while getting to the free-throw line a league-high 11.4 times per contest. However, that strong production hasn’t translated into wins — New Orleans is off to an 0-6 start.

As Kevin O’Connor of Yahoo Sports points out, things could go from bad to worse for the Pelicans without Williamson available, given that his -9.0 net rating this season is actually one of the better marks on the team. New Orleans has been outscored by a staggering 28.7 points per 100 possessions in the 136 minutes Williamson hasn’t played through six games.

The silver lining for the Pelicans is that a Grade 1 strain is considered mild, but given Williamson’s injury history, the club figures to manage the injury carefully.

As Rod Walker of NOLA.com writes, head coach Willie Green spoke on Monday about looking to “turn the page” on the 0-6 start, beginning with Tuesday’s game against the Hornets. At that time, Williamson was considered questionable to play due to what the team was referring to as hamstring soreness.

“Obviously we’re all disappointed, frustrated with our start,” Green said. “But we continue to come in, work at it and address it.”