Williamson has been listed as 6-foot-6, 284 pounds since New Orleans selected him out of Duke with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2019 draft. His weight and fitness level have been regularly criticized, and the amount of time Williamson has missed because of injuries hasnโt helped (including all of the 2021-22 season following offseason right foot surgery).
After playing only 30 games last season because of a left hamstring strain and a lower back injury, Williamson reported for 2025-26 looking trim and in shape. He told reporters that he and Pelicans trainer Daniel Bove had come up with a strategy to address his fitness while rehabbing his hamstring and that he stuck to it.
โI havenโt felt like this since college, high school,โ Williamson said at the time, โwhere I can walk in the gym and Iโm like just, โI feel good.โโ
Williamson has played in 46 of the Pelicansโ 63 games this season, already the third-most games he has played in his seven NBA seasons. In a recent interview with ESPNโs Malika Andrews, Williamson addressed how the past criticism affected him mentally.
โI would say the most difficult point was when I missed my third year with a broken foot, and there was a lot of criticism on my weight, my care for the game, etc.,โ Williamson said. โBut … while people were saying what theyโre saying โ and everybodyโs entitled to their own opinion, it is what it is โ Iโm in Portland rehabbing, not knowing if my footโs gonna heal, and it was frustrating. It was very frustrating.
โI was low. I was really low because I just wanted to play basketball. I just wanted to play the game I love, but every time you turn the TV on, every time I check my phone, it was nothing but negative criticism, man. At the time, it did a lot, like I said, it did a lot, but it was a blessing in disguise, and I learned from it and I grew from it.โ