How did Zion Williamson change his playing style in the preseason?

By his standards, he arrived at the New Orleans Pelicans this preseason gathering in good form. After scoring 12 points in the test match with the Orlando Magic, he scored another 16 in another preseason game with the Atlanta Hawks. Although the Atlanta Hawks had a convincing advantage during most of the match, they “closely won 110:105″ in the end.

Zion Williamson is 23 years old, 198 centimeters tall, and weighs 129 kilograms. However, his weight can vary from week to week. Since he joined the Pelicans after leaving Duke, he has missed 63% of the games. This fact does not explain the roller coaster of events in his life since the 2019 Draft. The injuries have significantly impacted him, and the recovery process has not been easy. As he explained in an interview last year, he has gone through dark moments. It was hard for him to fall back into the spiral of injury at the beginning of the year, which resulted in him being sidelined during a crucial stretch of the course, despite proving himself to be an All-Star.

Zion is trying to put all that behind him and focus on getting his career back on track. He is managing to do this in the preseason with an attractive game, similar to what we have seen from him in the past, but in a much more optimized way. Williamson has always stood out for his overwhelming physical superiority, making us forget he is “only” 1.98 meters tall.

In the preseason, the Pelicans player has slightly reduced the unstoppable explosiveness that characterized him through more restrained contact with the opponent. His teammates have benefited from this change in his playing style, as the volume of passes and scoring opportunities have increased. Zion Williamson has given wings to his creative side, a very intuitive but precise one. This is possible thanks to his preference for playing in the post, whether high or low, places where he excels. Surrounded by high-level shooters or finishers, the Pelicans star can finally find a way to produce without overloading himself physically.

In recent years, the game of basketball has evolved and allowed for the emergence of previously impossible player profiles. The dominance of mobility oversize is one of the most notable changes of this era. This is exemplified by players like Zion Williamson, whose combination of strength, agility, and instinct allows him to create opportunities that other players cannot.