National Basketball Association

Zion Williamson cleared for on-court activities, will be reevaluated in two weeks

Updated Mar. 22, 2023 8:55 p.m. ET

The New Orleans Pelicans will be without Zion Williamson for a couple more weeks, but his return could come soon after that.

Williamson was cleared for a return to on-court activities on Wednesday and will be re-evaluated in two weeks, the Pelicans announced on Wednesday. The Pelicans star forward has been out since Jan. 2 due to a hamstring injury.

Pelicans coach Willie Green told reporters that there's "a possibility" that Williamson could return to game action right after that reevaluation. New Orleans will have three games left in the regular season when Williamson will be reevaluated again, possibly setting him up to return as the Pelicans seek one last boost to make the play-in tournament and the playoffs.

At 35-37, the Pelicans sit in 12th place in the Western Conference standings entering Wednesday. But they're just a half-game back of the Utah Jazz for the final play-in spot and 1.5 games back of the Golden State Warriors for the sixth seed.

Green said though that Williamson isn't "doing a ton at the moment" in his on-court work, citing the setback he had in February as a reason why they aren't having him do too much yet.

"We're taking a slower approach with his rehabilitation," Green said. "He'll get on the floor and start to move a bit. He's starting to do some running and doing some shooting. But we're taking it kind of slow."

While Green didn't want to confirm if Williamson will return by season's end, he was excited about Williamson's progress.

"It's extremely positive for him and for the team," Green said. "It's been another one of those years where he starts off well, makes an All-Star game, but it's been difficult navigating injuries. It's part of the game, but it's definitely been tough for sure. I'm sure he's relieved to start to feel normal again and to get on the floor again."

Williamson was in the midst of a career year prior to the injury. He was scoring 26 points per game while shooting 60.8% from the field and 36.8% from deep, adding seven rebounds and 4.6 assists per game to help earn an All-Star nod.

As a result, New Orleans was one of the better teams in the Western Conference when Williamson played. They were 23-14 and were in third place in the West when Williamson went down. They've gone 12-23 since then.

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