Pelicans Zion Williamson sprains thumb, sidelined for at least one game – CBSSports.com

Zion Williamson will be as good as his body allows him to be. After a rookie season in which he played in only 24 games, Williamson has remained remarkably healthy during his sophomore campaign. He’s missed only two games this season, one of which came on the second night of a back-to-back. 

Williamson suffered an injury on Monday that threatened all of that. The New Orleans Pelicans were initially worried that Williamson would have to miss several weeks, but according to ESPN’s Andrew Lopez, he only has a sprained thumb, and will be back relatively quickly. He has, however, been ruled out for Thursday’s game against the Orlando Magic.

The steady playing time Williamson has been healthy enough to receive this season has allowed him to post earth-shattering numbers in his second season. Through 44 games, Williamson is averaging over 26 points on 62.4 percent shooting. That is some of the most efficient offensive production in NBA history, and losing Williamson for an extended period would not only have hurt his development, but would have ended any hopes the Pelicans have of reaching the postseason.

New Orleans is only a game-and-a-half behind the Golden State Warriors for the 10 seed in the Western Conference. Reaching that spot would get them into the play-in round of the postseason. If they could reach the playoffs from there, they would be one of the most dangerous low seeds in recent memory. After all, how often does a No. 1 seed have to worry about potentially not having the best player in a first-round series? Williamson presents that threat.

Even with Williamson reportedly getting a mostly clean bill of health, the Pelicans still have work to do on that front. They not only trail the Warriors but the No. 11 Sacramento Kings. But with Zion playing, New Orleans still has hope, and their best player can continue destroying the NBA in his sophomore season.