Zion Williamson's rookie year definitely had its share of "rough patches."
The Pelicans fell short of the playoffs and Williamson missed a large portion of the season as he recovered from a knee injury. But he remained optimistic.
"It’s a part of the game and it’s a part of coming back from injury," he said. "I feel like the coaches and the training staff handled it very well. Just to be able to play one minute in an NBA game, I’m grateful for that.”
The former Duke star was still able to play his way into contention for the NBA's rookie of the year award and also thinks the Pelicans are trending in the right direction.
"We’re not in the playoffs and we didn’t reach the goal we wanted to reach, but our potential for the future is bright," he said. "That’s a starting point, and you just build off that.”
The Pelicans wrap up the season tonight with a matchup against the Orlando Magic in the NBA's bubble in Orlando. New Orleans has gone just 2-5 in the bubble and suffered a few tough losses that Williamson expects will serve as motivation.
"You never want to lose like that, obviously. It’s like one of those wake-up calls, one of those lessons that you need to learn and you need to experience," he said. "I wish it wouldn’t have went down like that, obviously, but the best thing we can do is just learn from that experience and get to work.”
Williamson said he felt the Pelicans built strong team chemistry this season and is expecting that to carry over into next year.
"We might still have some bumps and bruises," he said. "But I feel like the chemistry is going to be a lot better. If we keep building that and have fun with it, I think we’ll be fine.”
Personally, Williamson said he plans on discussing where he needs to improve with his team and attacking that this offseason.
“Talk to my coaches, see what I need to do better from their point of view. Talk to the player development coaches as well, see what I need to do better from their point of view," he said. "Just work on every part of my game and work on getting my body to where it needs to be.”
