The Pelicans star forward Zion Williamson has been sidelined with a hamstring injury since early January. He has now only played in 114 games since he was drafted first overall by the Pelicans in 2019. The most games he has played in a season was 61 during the 2020-21 season.
His lack of time spent on the court has NBA fans now talking about his fashion choices.
Fan Comments
He first made waves about his fashion sense, or lack thereof, when he debuted an anime-themed outfit last season against the Hawks.
The comments under the ESPN post on Twitter suggested that he should focus on playing instead of fashion.
One comment read, “Fit trash but I see the anime awareness lol.”
“Honestly not a fan. Feel like a man of his means could probably do better,” another fan wrote.
This season he got torched in the comments for another bad outfit choice.
“Lol he from Spartanburg, NC lol and plus he’s a kid with a whole lot of money. He just being free. Leave him be. I seen some people who didn’t have much growing up and now can provide as adults and still don’t know how to put that s*** on. It’s in you, not on you!” another fan wrote in the comments.
Last summer, Williamson agreed to a five-year max extension worth $193 million. The contract could reach $231 million if he meets the incentives. That is more than enough money to pay for a stylist, but to each its own.
A popular Instagram account that focuses on basketball content made a compilation video of Williamson’s outfits throughout his time in the league. Fans took it a step further to come up with a starting five of badly dressed NBA players.
“Russell Westbrook PG, James Harden SG, Dillon Brooks SF, Kyle Kuzma PF, Zion C. NBA worst dressed team,” Lamont Waters wrote on Instagram.
Some fans did step up to defend the Pelicans star.
“H*** naw. It’s a bunch of nba players out here wearing dresses and skirts. Them fits was pretty weak but naw I can’t do him like that,” a fan wrote in the comment section.
Williamson Return
Despite Williamson’s poor outfit choices, fans want to see him back on the court. Williamson is eager to get back on the court himself, but there is no set return date.
“It’s been frustrating,” Williamson said of his extended absence while speaking with media members on Tuesday. “Not going to lie to you. It’s been very frustrating. Not being able to play sucks.”
He had a setback with his hamstring injury in February, and he said that it has also been a mental battle.
“It’s a little bit of a mental battle, because you know when I reaggravated [the injury] back in February, it was tough,” Williamson said. “So when I go to make certain moves, there is that hesitation. Sometimes there’s not and sometimes there is. And I understand the magnitude of these games coming up, and I don’t want to be out there hesitating or doing something that may affect my team in a bad way.”
He closed out the interview session by saying that he doesn’t know when he will return, but he does know he will be ready when he starts to “feel like Zion” again. The Pelicans take on the Thunder on Wednesday in their play-in game.
