Zion Williamson inching closer to returning to Pelicans lineup after quarantine

Zion Williamson will return to practice on Wednesday.

After leaving the NBA bubble in Orlando to deal with an urgent family matter on July 16, Zion Williamson has returned to Orlando and is expected to practice with the Pelicans on Wednesday. He returned to the bubble on Friday and has quarantined since, returning negative tests every day.

His quarantine is scheduled to end on Tuesday afternoon, which will make him eligible for Wednesday’s practice. Zion has been able to work out limitedly while in quarantine, but returning to practice doesn’t mean it’s a guarantee he’ll return to game action.

“Literally any player on our roster who went 13 days without doing any physical activity, it isn’t going to be a given that we would just cut them loose in that next game,” Pelicans coach David Griffin said, via Malika Andrews of ESPN. “Particularly a player that generates as much torque as he does. So we will see where he’s at.”

Zion and the Pelicans tip-off on Thursday, July 30 against the Jazz, where he is expected to be available. The Pelicans currently sit in 10th place in the Western Conference,3.5 games back from the No. 8 seed Memphis Grizzlies.

Zion is necessary to the Pelicans’ playoff hopes.

Zion will need to be at the top of his game if he wants to push the Pelicans into the playoffs in Orlando. He’ll look to pick up right where he left off when the NBA was suspended in March. In 19 games, he averaged 23.6 points on 59 percent from the field in just under 30 minutes per game. If he’s able to continue on that pace, the Pelicans will have an excellent chance at extending their stay in Orlando.

So far the NBA’s experiment with the bubble has been a success. Positive results have been limited during the first few weeks in Orlando. Other players who have left the bubble include Montrezl Harrel, Lou Williams and Patrick Beverly, who will all need to go through the same quarantine process as Zion.