NEW ORLEANS — The Pelicans medical team cleared Zion Williamson to play basketball without any restrictions.
According to the team, recent imaging of Zion's foot injury showed improvement, so he's been cleared of all restrictions in his "return to play progression."
Williamson missed the entire 2021-22 seasons after averaging a team-high 27 points and an earning a spot on the All-Star team in 2020.
He hurt his foot last summer while performing basketball drills with his stepfather, with whom he has entrusted his off-season training.
He was originally projected to return to practice in October, and then again in mid-December, but imaging of his foot at that time revealed a setback and the club said Williamson would stop practicing and focus on healing.
Williamson then received a “biologic injection” meant to improve bone healing. And with the Pelicans' permission, Williamson left New Orleans in early January to continue his recovery on his own in Oregon.
Drafted first overall out of Duke in 2019, Williamson played in just 24 games as a rookie because of a preseason right knee injury (lateral meniscus). In his second season, he played in 61 of 72 games.
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