Former Player Blasts Zion Williamson, Calls Zion's Weight Gain a 'Disgrace'

Jason Smith: What is it with Zion? It's obvious that the Pelicans would play him more if they didn't think he would get hurt.”

Ryan Hollins: “It's a disgrace, man. I hope Zion can get to the point where he understands how important he is to the league. He came in on a heavy minutes restriction and he was upset. He looks like he's darn near added 15-20 pounds… The disgrace here comes with Zion not knowing how important he is to the league because guys like that have to make sacrifices, whether it's Kobe, or LeBron, or Charles Barkley or Jordan. All those guys sacrificed their bodies. There's a lot of little things that you have to go through as a professional to succeed... I played with DeAndre Jordan, who was chubby his first couple years in the league but he lost the weight, got with a nutritionist, and everything else changed. DeAndre has never been in the same ballpark as Zion is when it comes to his hype and expectations. It's disappointing that he hasn't figured it out yet, and it's not about the team or COVID. Giannis went through COVID, Marc Gasol went through COVID - he improved. Nikola Jokic lost weight during COVID. There are a number of guys who took the time off to get better. Hopefully, Zion gets it and he can understand his importance to the NBA.” (Full Segment Above)

Listen to former NBA player Ryan Hollins explain to Jason Smith and Mike Harmon (guest hosting for Doug Gottlieb) why he thinks Zion Williamson's supposed weight gain is a ‘disgrace’, as the 20-year-old rookie phenom has been one of the biggest storylines of the season, often for the wrong reasons.

Williamson’s mysterious minutes restriction has turned the former no. 1 overall pick into a part-time player, and effectively made him a novelty idea during pre-determined and heavily monitored times of the games – usually confined to the bench in the final minutes.

Check out the audio above as Hollins details why he thinks Williamson himself is to blame for the minutes restriction, and explains why Zion needs to take his body and conditioning much more seriously if he wants to actually become a superstar in this league.

Hollins spent ten years in the NBA between 2006-2016 with the Bobcats, Timberwolves, Cavaliers, Kings, Grizzlies, Mavericks, Celtics, and Wizards.

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