Zion Williamson gained weight, now 315 lbs, how long before he is out of the NBA.

I was in the same bar/night club as Shaq on two occasions in mid-1990's. Once in New Orleans (or Baton Rouge) and once in Chicago. He looked like an athlete who could do anything then. I heard Shaq say in an interview (not exact quotes), Shaq new he wasn't going to be a finesse scorer like Jabbar, Shaq knew he was not going to have the all around game as Hakeem. Shaq said he was determined to be the most dominate low post center ever. Looking back, is Shaq just making excuses for gaining 75 or so unnecessary pounds? I liked the speed, range and quickness possessed by Shaq during LSU and Orlando Magic days. He did it his way. Shaq may be a billionaire one day.

Shaq is over 400 lbs now and had a failed 😨 stomach band operation .

STEVE THE ADDICT^^^^^^""""""""'"--';"- wrote:

Wonder how heavy Shaq was at his heaviest. He struggled with weight too. Zion needs to take accountability and get his stuff together or he'll just be yet another washed up NBA bust.

Uh, no. This is what Shaq looked like when he was Zion's age:

He had no weight problems whatsoever and was actually relatively lean until many years later.

erewrqwr wrote:

Statistically, he's had one of the best starts in league history, especially for an efficiency standpoint. Calling him a bust shows you know nothing. He does need to figure the weight stuff out, but my guess is he will.

Yep, Zion is already a more accomplished NBA basketball player in two years than guys like Bowie and Duckworth were over the 10+ year entirety of their careers. He really is a short Shaq, a more athletic Barkley. But if he doesn't get his weight under control and commit to staying around 260-270 pounds at most, he will have a short and disappointing career.

coach wrote:

carmine9 wrote:

Always hurt? Did not miss a game in 2018-19; missed 20 last year. He was killing it in 2019-2020 until the season was suspended. Injured? Yes. Always? Not even.

So a guy that average 27 points in 61% shooting and 7 plus boards is underperforming due to weight? Maybe. But I don't see how anyone could call that underperforming with a straight face.

Hurt in HS, hurt his line college season, 2 injuries his rookie year. An injury (but not a lower leg) last year and now this year. 85 games played in 3 years, about 40 fewer than Ja or RJ.

Now you are just making stuff up.

He played 33 games his only year at Duke. He missed five when a shoe blew out and he hurt his knee.

Zion Williamson missed the final six games of the New Orleans Pelicans regular season due to a fractured left ring finger, according to the team. With the Pelicans out of the playoff picture at that point, it made sense to shut him down for the remainder of the year. It’s nothing for fans to carry worry about into the offseason.

Zion Williamson thumb sprain, April 2021

A thumb sprain kept Zion Williamson out for a handful of games in 2021. He returned in a matchup against the Atlanta Hawks in which he scored 34 points on 12-of-18 shooting from the field, including one made and attempted 3-pointer.

Fractured ring finger and thumb sprain due to his weight?

AAU/High School Injuries

He started dealing with issues during his time at AAU ball. In 2017, he suffered a fall during warm ups which forced him to miss more than a few months of action.

“It was during a warmup prior to the first week of the AAU season. We were in Arkansas and it was hot and the floor was slippery and he fell one time on it and I saw that knee hit that floor and the next morning he told me that knee was swollen,” said Williamson’s step-father, Lee Anderson. “We had the doctors look at it and they said it was a deep contusion so we just got him off of it. He went to Dallas and played in the very first game and he wasn’t 100 percent and I could tell, so we just shut him down.”

Slippery floor due to his weight?

So a guy that average 27 points in 61% shooting and 7 plus boards is underperforming due to weight? Maybe. But I don't see how anyone could call that underperforming with a straight face.[/quote]

Somebody in Zion's life (nutritionist or CSCS) should know what is required but aren't helping him when he needs it.

A very difficult conversation, as he is obviously a poster child for insulin resistance and metabolic syndrome.

Yes his stats were incredible but he's also missed a ton of games, so average lots and lots of triple zeros.

I can't believe they'd put him in an NBA game over 280.

[/quote]

Did I use the term "underperforming." I stated he'll score 25+ points in 25 minutes then get hurt. He's had more injuries at the age of 21 then Lebron had up to age 34. He's had more injuries then Barkley had in his early career.

He fell down and missed a few months, he blew out a shoe and missed the end of the season, feet issues, knee issues. Good luck.

When Shaq started at LSU, he could run the floor. The most frightening thing I've ever seen on a basketball court was Chris Jackson leading the break with Shaq and Stanley Roberts on either wing, against college kids.

Defensive ----- wrote:

I'm not surprised, someone who is 285 as a 18 year old is gonna gain about 30lbs as they become adults and finish filling out. The problem is that puts Zion at 6'6 and 315 lbs. He is already struggling with injuries at 21 years old, how long before he is out of the league?

few more burgers