"Get better for my teammates... for the city" - Injury-hit star Zion Williamson outlines his No. 1 priority this summer

When healthy, Zion Williamson is an unstoppable force in the league. Unfortunately for him, in three seasons, he has been unable to consistently stay on the court. However, Williamson is ready to come back this season and prove his worth in the NBA, for his teammates and his city.

This offseason, Williamson has done a lot of extra work to not only do away with the injury but also condition his body for the long haul. He said that he had only two priorities this offseason. One, to show up for his teammates, and two, to become the dominant force that he was expected to be when he was drafted.

“Priority number one, get better for my teammates, better for the city and do my part and trying to make this a winning franchise," he told SiriusXM Radio. "Two, I worked on a lot of stuff to not only make the game easier on myself but pretty much make myself unguardable. Like really really unguardable.”

Since entering the league, Zion hasn’t even played 50% of the games for the New Orleans Pelicans. In his first and third seasons with the Pelicans, he only played 24 and 29 games respectively. However, when he played 61 games in the second season, he averaged 27 points and shot 61.1% from the field.

Can Zion Williamson be trusted with his health?

Zion Williamson is one of the few positives for the Pelicans in the last few years. His arrival in the league put the team in the spotlight. However, as much as he is a truly generational talent, he hasn’t capitalized on it.

His impact on the team is very much visible in the fact that last season, the Pelicans were the top team in the Western Conference in December when he was fit. However, his absence hurt the team and they ended up losing in the play-in tournament.

Perhaps, this season, it’s going to be different for New Orleans fans. David Griffin, the VP of basketball operations, explained what he saw from Zion this offseason.

"I can tell you Zion Williamson has been in our gym more than he has in his entire career in the offseason," Griffin said last week while speaking to the Greater New Orleans Quarterback Club. "He has been in New Orleans virtually all offseason, which is different."

If what Griffin says is true, then the team should enter the season with high hopes. Reports suggested Williamson had been playing pickup basketball in September. He is getting his lower body ready for the season and if he stays healthy, the Pelicans are going to be a force.