The world will have to wait a while for Zion Williamson's NBA debut.
The Pelicans rookie is expected to miss "a period of weeks" to start the regular season as he recovers from a knee injury, ESPN reported Friday.
A severe injury has been ruled out for Zion Williamson’s right knee, but he is expected to miss period of weeks to start regular season, league sources tell ESPN. Pels are clearly treating injury with an abundance of caution but there’s no shortage of confidence on full recovery.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) October 18, 2019
The team said Thursday that Williamson would miss the preseason finale against the Knicks due to "right knee soreness." The No. 1 overall pick did not make the trip to New York and was remaining in New Orleans to undergo further evaluation.
Pelicans coach Alvin Gentry told reporters Friday that the team believes Williamson hurt his knee Sunday against the Spurs. He added (via ESPN) that the 19-year-old is in good spirits: "He's not dead, guys."
Williamson averaged 23.3 points in four preseason games.
New Orleans takes on New York in its final preseason game on Friday at 8 p.m. ET. The team travels to Toronto to open its regular season Tuesday at 8 p.m. ET.