Prior to tip-off of recent New Orleans games, veteran center Larry Nance Jr. has noticed a subtle difference in Zion Williamson. Now playing his fourth NBA season, the 23-year-old often comes across in the team’s locker room as friendly and cheery – but not as much during the Pelicans’ surge since Jan. 31 (16-5, the NBA’s third-best record).
“Even something as simple as locker room pregame, he’s a little bit less jovial, a little less joking,” Nance said Tuesday, when asked about Williamson’s elite play lately. “He’s sitting at his locker, head down, really focusing on the task at hand. To his credit, he’s come out and handled business.”
Larry Nance Jr. on win, Zion Williamson's focus | Pelicans at Nets Postgame Interview 3/19/24
The business-handling by the two-time All-Star power forward continued emphatically Tuesday in Brooklyn, with Williamson soaring and muscling his way to 20 second-half points, among a game-high 28. The Pelicans posted a 104-91 victory over the Nets, with their most gifted player tallying at least 23 points for the sixth consecutive time. He’s been highly efficient while doing so, shooting over 60 percent in five straight games.
The Duke product is a primary reason behind why New Orleans is 7-1 in March and 42-26 overall, moving into contention for a top-four seed in the Western Conference. Williamson shot 11/16 from the field against the Nets; he’s registered double-digit baskets in every game since March 10. From a durability standpoint, he’s appeared in 15 games in a row, as well as 57 of New Orleans’ 68 games in 2023-24. Over his first four years after being drafted No. 1 overall in 2019, Williamson appeared in just 114 of a possible 308 games.
Pelicans Stat Leader Highlights: Zion Williamson with 28 points vs. Brooklyn Nets 3/19/24
“Z was great,” third-year head coach Willie Green said of a 28-point, seven-rebound, four-assist night in Brooklyn. “His force, his ability to dissect the defense, get to the basket, get to the foul line, make the extra pass when it’s there. He carried us in that second half.”
“His play of late, his play this season (have been outstanding),” Nance said, “but most importantly, we and I are just so proud of him for putting the work in on his body to stay healthy this year. That’s big-time for us as a team. I couldn’t be more happy for him, truly.”
“He’s been great,” guard CJ McCollum said after a recent shootaround. “We’ve had a lot of conversations behind closed doors about what it takes to be successful. He’s been getting extra conditioning in for months at this point. I think you can see it in the explosiveness, the ability to pivot around the basket, the pace. Defensively, he’s been better. He’s been rebounding.”
Williamson is the NBA’s sixth-leading scorer over every team’s last five games at 29.6 ppg, while leading the league in field-goal percentage (66.3) among high-volume offensive players (minimum 40 field goals made) during the same span.
“Honestly, his focus level right now is ridiculous,” Nance said. “I was telling him, some of the best players I’ve played with, this is the time (of the season) they start peaking. He’s doing exactly that, following that exact mode.”
Williamson is playing the most consistent basketball of his pro career right now. The same can be said for the Pelicans over the past decade-plus, on pace to reach 50 wins for only the second time in franchise history (New Orleans finished 56-26 in 2007-08). The Pelicans have the West’s best winning percentage since Jan. 31 and are starting to draw attention for how dominant they’ve been – seven double-digit wins since the All-Star break – as well as their postseason potential.
“There are players on this team who are eager to prove themselves on the biggest stages,” ESPN’s Zach Lowe said on his podcast. “This is a team that has not won a playoff series together. Zion has not played in a playoff game. I think they are hungry and there is a cycle going on with them where they are confident, and they are hungry, and they are winning. It’s starting to build on itself, where they are like, ‘Oh, we’ve got something going here!’ ”
Zion Williamson on road win, Willie Green's growth | Pelicans at Nets Postgame Interview 3/19/24
Asked about the team’s outlook following the win over Brooklyn, Williamson expressed enthusiasm about recent results, but noted that the Pelicans have much more work to do, with 14 games remaining in the regular season.
“It’s very exciting, but we’ve got to keep building,” he said. “I talked about it at the beginning and middle of the season, now coming toward the end of the season. We’ve got to keep getting better. If we want to be a contender, we’ve got to keep getting better with the small nuances of the game.”