NBA player Zion Williamson, 24, shocked sports fans after images of the New Orleans Pelican’s new look hit the internet over the weekend.
According to Yahoo Sports, Zion Williamson attended his free basketball camp for kids in Spartanburg, South Carolina, on August 17. Social media noticed the 6-foot-6 athlete’s apparent weight loss and much thinner appearance compared to recent months.
Williamson’s fans celebrated his physical transformation, including one Instagram user that said, “I notice he looks smaller. Certainly smaller than he came in last season.
Another said, “Look at his arms. he really has slimmed up.i seen other pics wasnt sure if it was just angles bur he really has sslimmed up.”
One inquisitive observer posted on X, “wtf happened to bro.”
However, a lot of comments suggested the power forward took Ozempic, the diabetic medication that is also used as weight loss medication.
“Ozempic for the win,” one person posted in the comment section of the Black Millionaires Instagram account. Another follower joked, “Ozempic out here making ninjas [money bag emoji].”
Someone congratulated Williamson for his weight loss journey while questioning how he pulled it off. The person wrote, “I wanna see the recordings of the workouts and eating cause I just can’t believe it these days with Ozempic around… but great job.”
Williamson had defenders online as well. Backers of the former Duke Blue Devils star claimed he did not need to use Ozempic to shed pounds because Williamson likely has access to other methods of losing weight.
Zion Williamson’s size and weight has been a conversation among NBA enthusiasts since he was drafted by the Pelicans in 2019. For example, the following year, NFL All-Pro-turned-media talking head Shannon Sharpe harshly criticized Williamson.
“There’s no reason he cannot have a full-time chef. There is no reason Zion Williamson’s conditioning is not better than what it is,” Sharpe said on a 2020 episode of “Undisputed” on FS1.
In December 2023, Sharpe also spoke about Zion Williamson on his “Nightcap” podcast with Chad “Ochocinco” Johnson. The three-time Super Bowl champion once again called out Williamson for his eating habits.
“He can’t overcome a bad diet. He can’t,” Sharpe told Ochocinco about Williamson, adding, “His stomach and his a– going in two different directions. One’s going that way, the other going that way. Now you guess which one is which.”
The former NFL star continued to bash Williamson on ESPN. During a segment on the network’s “First Take” talk show, Sharpe said, “If he loves the game of basketball, he would get his weight under control. He would take training serious.”
Williamson was selected by the New Orleans Pelicans with the first pick in the 2019 NBA draft. Reports in December 2023 claimed the two-time NBA All-Star had missed so many games the previous season that his contract was no longer guaranteed, and he could only earn back the guarantees by playing in enough games and keeping his combined body fat percentage and weight number under 295 at regular weigh-ins.
The Pelicans reached the 2024 NBA playoffs through the play-in tournament. Williamson had 40 points and 11 rebounds in a play-in matchup against LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers before getting injured with 3:19 left in the game. Williamson was out for the Pelicans’ first-round matchup against the Oklahoma City Thunder, which swept New Orleans 4-0
