Photo Credit: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

Shaquille O’Neal Raises Concern Over Zion Williamson’s Weight Loss: “I Just Hope His New Little Body Can Withstand That”

Zion Williamson’s weight has always been a major concern since he made his way into the NBA in 2019. For what it’s worth, the former No.1 overall pick has only appeared in 85 games due to a series of injuries, and many have wondered whether his weight has played a big factor.

That being said, it now seems that Williamson has heard all the concerns and ridicule over his weight, as the New Orleans Pelicans big man was noticeably leaner and looked to be in better shape when appearing in the recent NBA media day.

Zion is so significantly thinner than last year at this time. Honestly kind blown a bit. This dude has done everything for said he was. So damned Hyped. @PelicansNBA going to be a menace pic.twitter.com/TNKCAv9ubT

— Christopher Price (@topherp33) September 26, 2022

While most fans are impressed with Williamson’s body transformation, played-turned-analyst Shaquille O’Neal feels differently. Sitting down on “The Big Podcast”, the NBA Hall of Famer raised some concern over Williamson’s weight loss, exclaiming that the 22-year old may struggle overcoming hard fouls with his slimmer body.

“When I start losing weight getting thin, I would get injured more from contact but when I was big and looked out of shape, I was in charge,” O’Neal said. “But listen, he looks good, I wish him well but I liked him when he was big Zion.” 

“He’s a big guy, did you see how he was jumping and how he was playing? So, now he looks good but he’s Zion. So, they’re gonna bring that pain, they gonna be bringing that force when they play against him, it’s gonna be hard fouls. I just hope his new little body can withstand that.”