Pelicans’ forward Zion Williamson has been under the microscope since he joined the league.
Coming out of college as the hottest prospect in years, Williamson’s impressive build brought outsized attention. Now in his fifth year in the NBA, critics have called on Williamson to take better care of his body if he wants to become the best player he can be.
Last week, Williamson responded to such criticism from Shaquille O’Neal and Charles Barkley of Inside the NBA, thanking them if their comments came from a place of kindness, and dismissing their comments if they came from anywhere else.
On Tuesday night ahead of TNT’s broadcast of the Pelicans-Grizzlies game, Shaq and Barkley addressed Williamson’s most recent comments.
“I’m the president when it comes being a dominant big man. There is no other,” O’Neal said. “I sat there and watched him. I said he doesn’t run hard, he doesn’t create easy baskets for himself, and it looks like he’s not ready. That was me telling him, if you do this, you can get to the next level.
“We only criticize people that we like,” O’Neal continued. “We only criticize people that we believe in.”
“We want him to be great,” Barkley added.
"We only criticize people that we like. We only criticize people that we believe in." 💯
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) December 20, 2023
Shaq and Chuck respond to Zion's message about their criticisms pic.twitter.com/tz2rf4KCFB
Williamson is averaging 22.5 points, 5.9 rebounds, and 4.6 assists per game so far this season. The Pelicans are 16–11 to start the year, good for seventh in the Western Conference.
