25-under-25: Is Zion Williamson really ready for reinvention?

It feels like it passed in the blink of an eye, but Zion Williamson is entering his sixth season in the NBA. His absences certainly seemed to move time forward — appearing in just 184 games across his first five seasons, a little less than half of what he could have played.

But time wasn't standing still while he was off the court, it was working it's corrosive way through his physical tools. We know we've lost a good chunk of what could have been one of the most impressive athletic primes in NBA history. It is not hyperbole to point out that his combination of strength, quickness and explosive leaping ability are utterly unique. We lament what his injuries have already deprived him, the Pelicans and basketball fans of, but even if he'd have been entirely healthy the past five years, his career would still be at an inflection point.

Blake Griffin's sixth season was his final All-Star selection. It was also the first time he broke 4.0 assists per game (he actually hit 5.3 that season). It was the first time in his career that he took more long 2-point jumpers than shots at the rim. It was the point at which he stopped trying to dunk on everyone on every play, pouring his physical tools into accentuating his basketball skills instead of trying to overpower and out-leap every opponent.

Zion has already been forced to begin that transition because of his healthy problems but the pace of change would be speeding up this year anyway. Healthy or not, this is the point in his career where he would have to become a different player.

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Is Zion Williamson ready for change?

It's easy to see the contours of Zion's effectiveness as his edges in quickness and explosiveness begin to dull. He'll still be one of the strongest players in the league and with his soft touch could be probably be an elite finisher around the basket into his 40s. Like Griffin, his assists have been trending up and he's already ahead of the curve as a playmaker — averaging 5.0 assists per game last season.

But he hasn't expanded his shooting range in any way — over 95 percent of his shots last season came within 10 feet of the basket. The effectiveness of his passing is linked with his ability to create advantages, he's not like Nikola Jokic, dropping lasers from the elbows to cutters only he can see until it's too late. As it gets harder and harder for Zion to create an edge, he may find those open teammates aren't quite as open as they have been.

That's not to say I expect Zion to fall off this season. It's hard to fall off when you've only played 70 or more games once in your career, there's just no consistent track record to compare to. But a new phase of his career is starting now. Brandon Ingram willl likely be gone before the end of the season. Dejounte Murray is here. Trey Murphy is ascendent. Herb Jones is commanding a larger offensive role. The context within and around him is changing.

By all accounts, Zion is as healthy as he's ever been. And his body, lingering injury damage notwithstanding, is as prepared as it's ever been for the grind of a full NBA season. But even lighter and more flexible, this is just not the same body he had when he was 19 or 20. The outer limits of performance have changed.

He has to stay healthy to matter but even if he does what's in front of him this season and the next, and the next, is just as challenging as the transition from college phenom to heralded rookie. The basketball tools he's relied on for the past decade are changing underneath him. He'll have to find new ones and figure out how to use them in new ways. He can still be a 25-point-per-game scorer with incredible efficiency, an offensive centerpiece who powers a playoff team.

But it will have to be different.

Zion Williamson ranked No. 7 on FanSided's 2024-25 25-under-25, ranking the best young players in the NBA. Check out the rest of the list here.