Zion Williamson is one of the best (and most popular) players in the NBA.

The former Duke superstar got off to a slow start to his career due to injuries, but he is coming off a year where he appeared in 72 games (before getting injured in the play-in tournament and missing the playoffs).

He finished the regular season with averages of 22.9 points, 5.8 rebounds, 5.0 assists and 1.1 steals per contest while shooting 57.0% from the field and 33.3% from the three-point range.

Recently, ESPN’s Tim Bontemps made an intriguing comment about Williamson (via Brian Windhorst & The Hoop Collective).

Bontemps: “It’s also just interesting that Zion played 70 games last year. Didn’t really sniff the All-Star team, didn’t come close making All-NBA. Just interesting. If you would have said a couple of years ago, well, if Zion plays 70 games, you’d think he’d be in the mix for all of that stuff. He’s in a pretty big moment right now.”

Williamson was the first pick in the 2019 NBA Draft after a legendary season with the Blue Devils.

He has played in 184 games over four seasons (and missed the entire 2021-22 season).

The two-time NBA All-Star has yet to appear in an NBA playoff game.

The Pelicans finished last season as the eighth seed in the Western Conference with a 49-33 record.

They beat the Sacramento Kings in the play-in tournament but were swept by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the Oklahoma City Thunder in the first round of the NBA playoffs.