NBA Twitter fears that Zion Williamson is heading in Greg Oden territory following his latest injury setback.
New Orleans Pelicans fans had not seen star Zion Williamson play yet this season, as he underwent offseason foot surgery. But on Saturday, news broke that Williamson was dealing with soreness in his right foot and that his rehab will be dialed back.
With this bummer of an update, some on NBA Twitter fear that Williamson is heading into Greg Oden territory due to the amount of injuries he has been dealing with this early in his career.
we’re veering dangerously close to Greg Oden territory with Zion—hope he takes all the time he needs and gets to 100% https://t.co/Bli7kesSQx
— Tyler Conway (@jtylerconway) December 11, 2021
Greg Oden played 82 in his first three seasons. https://t.co/b8747ABJFp
— Brett Usher (@UsherNBA) December 11, 2021
The latest Zion Williamson news is a legitimate bummer. Here’s hoping his career manages to go the way of Joel Embiid rather than Greg Oden.
— Mitchell Maurer (@Mitchell_NBA) December 11, 2021
2007 Draft:
— Jim Miloch (@podoffame) December 11, 2021
#1: Greg Oden
#2: Kevin Durant
2019 Draft:
#1: Zion Williamson
#2: Ja Morant
History seems to be repeating itself… https://t.co/999dzxKVtu
This is going down Greg Oden territory https://t.co/JWC8rDTyCe
— Brian Rauf (@brauf33) December 11, 2021
Zion starting to look like Greg Oden 2.0 https://t.co/E7XUBMeh6z
— Tyler Edwards (@TooTallTyler) December 12, 2021
I really hope Zion’s career isn’t like Greg Oden’s man. He’s so damn talented, he deserves to be on the floor. My fave player in the league! https://t.co/to9mZbSVF6
— Xavier Thibodeaux (@zayiceman171) December 11, 2021
People thought he was gonna be the next Lebron but it’s looking more like the next Greg Oden https://t.co/HasFCe853a
— Horacio/Pinky (@akidnamedpinky) December 11, 2021
Zion Williamson suffers setback in right foot recovery
It is perhaps a bit too early to deem Williamson the next Oden. We will have to see how long it will take for him to fully recover, and then see how he performs on the court in his return.
After being selected first-overall in the 2019 NBA Draft, Williamson had all of the hype behind him. But before the season started, the former Duke Blue Devil had to undergo arthroscopic knee surgery, forcing him to miss a decent chunk of his rookie season.
Last season, Williamson showed what he can truly do at full health. He was named to the All-Star team, and averaged 27.0 points, 7.2 rebounds and 3.7 assists while shooting 61.1-percent from the field.
But this past summer, Williamson underwent a procedure to repair a fracture in his right foot. Now, there is no clear timetable for the Pelicans star to make his 2021-22 season debut. That will all depend on when the bone heals properly.