Zion Williamson DVOA, Advanced Stats, & Fantasy Rankings

According to New Orleans Pelicans executive vice president of basketball operations Joe Dumars, the organization intends to keep forward Zion Williamson on the roster. "I've had some really good conversations with Zion," said Dumars. "I've had some real honest conversations with him. We're going forward with Zion. He's going to continue to be a focal point here as we go forward." A woman the former Blue Devil dated filed a lawsuit recently, alleging rape and abuse. But as far as his issues on the court, he has had trouble staying healthy, appearing in 30 games or fewer four times during his career, including missing the entire 2021-22 campaign. However, Williamson is as good as it gets when healthy, averaging 24.7 points, 6.6 rebounds, 4.3 assists, and 1.0 steals in 214 regular-season contests. If he can remain off the injury report, he has All-Star upside. Still, fantasy managers who pick Williamson in drafts heading into the season will be taking a gamble based on his numerous ailments over the years.

New Orleans Pelicans forward/center Zion Williamson hasn't seen any success during his time in Louisiana, leaving his future murky, but he remains an integral part of the team's plans. According to NBA insider Marc Stein, the Pelicans' newly-hired president of basketball operations, Joe Dumars, wants to "make things work with Williamson as the team's centerpiece." New Orleans has aimed to build around Williamson ever since drafting him in 2019 as the No. 1 pick, but his availability is a significant concern. The 24-year-old has never played more than 70 games in a single NBA season and was limited to just 30 appearances in 2024-25. When healthy, Williamson can be a fantasy beast, but history has shown that managers can't count on that.

According to ESPN's Shams Charania, New Orleans Pelicans forward Zion Williamson (back) will be shut down for the remainder of the 2024-25 campaign. The 24-year-old averaged 24.6 points, 7.2 rebounds, 5.3 assists, and 1.2 steals this season. However, after appearing in a career-high 70 games in 2023-24, he logged only 30 games this season. It's unknown what the future holds for the former Duke Blue Devil as it relates to his time in New Orleans. But even if he ends up elsewhere next season, he'll need to prove he can stay healthy before earning the trust of fantasy managers. Until then, Williamson's presence on any fantasy roster is a risk. CJ McCollum (foot), Trey Murphy III (shoulder), and Dejounte Murray (Achilles) have already been sidelined, so Jose Alvarado, Kelly Olynyk, Bruce Brown, and Jordan Hawkins (back) should be in charge of most of the scoring duties the rest of the way.