Zion Williamson's former trainer has commented on the New Orleans Pelicans star in light of the team expressing its concern over the All-Star's weight.
On Friday, the New Orleans Times-Picayune reported that the Pelicans organization is concerned about Williamson’s discipline.
“The Pelicans have repeatedly stressed to Williamson that his diet and conditioning need to improve,” the report stated. “Williamson, multiple team sources have told The Times-Picayune, ‘doesn’t listen.’”
After the Pelicans' blowout loss to the Lakers on Thursday, Williamson did take personal accountability.
“I got to be better,” he told reporters. “I got to be more aggressive, finding my shot. I got to do more things to get my team going. I think I was too laid-back tonight, and I just can’t do that. And defensively I got to be better.”
On Friday, Zion's former trainer, Jasper Bibbs, hopped on Instagram to post a cryptic message in the wake of the news. Bibbs posted a screenshot of the story regarding Zion's conditioning and diet with a shrug emoji. Bibbs also shared a photo of a slimmed down Zion alongside a caption that read, "Remember when..."
The Pelicans aren't the only ones who called out Zion's lack of conditioning this week.
Following TNT's broadcast of the Lakers-Pelicans game on Thursday, Shaquille O'Neal empathized with Zion, explaining that he, too, struggled with his weight during the early stages of his career.
“I wasn’t working as hard as I thought I was,” O’Neal shared. “I had the same problem my first and second year. I thought I was running hard."
O'Neal added, "I was just like him, so I don’t want to sit up here [and rip him], but people used to pull me to the side and tell me I wasn’t working as hard [as I needed to]. Once he decides to be that killer and go for it, he’s going to be a dangerous person.”
