Zion Williamson has played in just 13 games during the 2024–25 season after missing nearly two months of the campaign with an injury. The New Orleans Pelicans star has been burdened by injuries throughout his career in the NBA since being drafted in 2019, having played in just 197 of a possible 458 games and missing the entire 2021–22 season.

Williamson returned to the Pelicans' lineup on Jan. 7 and has since played in seven of the team's last 12 games. Notably, though unsurprisingly, Williamson has not been cleared to play in back-to-backs for New Orleans, though he indicated that is something that's out of his hands entirely.

Speaking on his availability in back-to-backs, Williamson said that it is the Pelicans' decision not to play him on consecutive nights, noting that he would elect to play if the choice was his.

"Let me make this clear to everybody out there. If I can play in the back-to-backs, I would. Physically, yes, I can. But, I work for the Pelicans. They have decided that, based off the numbers, it's not smart to do that right now," said Williamson. "If that's what they feel, I'm rocking with them on that. But yes, if I could play in a back-to-back, I would."

Williamson has appeared in each of the last three games for the Pelicans, and their schedule sees them go without a set of games on consecutive nights until Feb. 27–28, after this year's All-Star break. That's a run of eight more games in which Williamson would be able to play without the team requiring him to take a night off.

While Pelicans fans may be disappointed that Williamson doesn't suit up for both legs of back-to-back games, the 24-year-old made clear that sitting out is not something he's choosing to do.

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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Zion Williamson Shifts Blame to Pelicans for Not Playing in Back-to-Backs.