The 2024-25 NBA season will be a lost year for the New Orleans Pelicans, who sit last in the Western Conference with a 13-43 record.
The Pelicans weren’t projected to be this bad heading into the regular season as they made a blockbuster deal to acquire Dejounte Murray from the Atlanta Hawks.
However, injuries have ruined any chance of New Orleans being competitive.
They lost Murray for the rest of the year due to a torn Achilles, while other players like Zion Williamson have dealt with their own injury woes.
The Pelicans made the smart move of trading away players like Brandon Ingram to help restart their team, though Williamson remains on the roster despite his lack of availability.
When healthy, Williamson is a dynamic offensive force who can single-handedly take over games.
While this year hasn’t been the best for Williamson, he managed to make history on Friday by becoming the third-fastest active NBA player to hit 5,000 points via Bleacher Report.
“Last night, Zion became 3rd fastest active NBA player (203 games) to reach 5K career PTS Special.”
Last night, Zion became 3rd fastest active NBA player (203 games) to reach 5K career PTS 👀
Special. 👏 pic.twitter.com/yLpdueEUXN
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) February 22, 2025
New Orleans lost to the Dallas Mavericks 111-103, though Williamson performed well.
He scored 29 points, had seven rebounds, and three assists.
Durability and conditioning concerns have plagued the star big man for years, but there’s no denying his talents on the basketball court.
While the Pelicans won’t be competing for anything other than draft positioning this year, there’s at least some solace in knowing WIlliamson is capable of playing like a star when he’s on the floor.
