Pelicans' Zion Williamson says return vs. Thunder 'realistic'

Sounding more than just optimistic, New Orleans Pelicans forward Zion Williamson said Tuesday that it is "realistic" he can return from a left hamstring injury and join his team in the playoffs.

It is a bold statement, especially when considering the Pelicans are already in a 1-0 first-round hole to the Oklahoma City Thunder, who have home-court advantage. The Thunder, top seed in the Western Conference, earned a 94-92 victory in the series opener Sunday.

"That is definitely realistic. That is absolutely realistic," Williamson said Tuesday about returning in the series. "But I've got to pass tests, get back to baseline and, hopefully, I'll be out there."

Williamson was injured during New Orleans' play-in tournament loss to the Los Angeles Lakers. Without their star, the Pelicans rebounded to a 105-98 victory over the Sacramento Kings on Friday and landed the No. 8 seed in the West.

In 36 minutes against the Lakers, Williamson scored 40 points with 11 rebounds and looked every bit the star he was projected to be. But his latest injury is another in a long line of ailments that have come since he moved to the NBA in 2019. He missed the entire 2021-22 season with a foot injury.

Williamson also had a hamstring injury last season and did not play after Jan. 2, but is less concerned this time around.

"I knew something happened and it didn't feel anything like how it did on the right side (last season)," he said. "The right side was definitely sharper pain. This one didn't really feel like that. It just felt like, ‘Nah, something's off right now.' "

After first feeling like the latest injury was "demoralizing," Williamson, 23, is in a far better state of mind as he looks to bring his averages of 22.9 points and 5.8 rebounds and 5.0 assists into the series. His 70 games played in the regular season were a career best.

"At least it's not like (last season), so just build off that," Williamson said.