New Orleans Pelicans executive Joe Dumars believes Zion Williamson’s approach this summer could be an important step toward reaching his potential. Dumars told Rod Walker of NOLA.com that Williamson has shown an increased commitment to his work, emphasizing that sustained obsession with basketball is necessary to become great in the NBA.
“You can’t casually become great in this league,” Dumars said. “What I’ve seen from him this summer is he’s obsessed with the work he’s putting in. And that is really encouraging for me that he’s putting this type of work in.”
Dumars’ comments come after the Pelicans decided to retain Williamson through the offseason despite continued trade speculation surrounding the 26-year-old forward. The organization has publicly maintained that it has no intention of trading its franchise cornerstone.
Williamson played 62 games in the 2025-26 season, his highest total since appearing in 70 games during the 2023-24 campaign. He averaged 21.0 points, 5.7 rebounds and 3.2 assists in 29.7 minutes per game while shooting 60.0% from the field.
His efficiency remained one of the strongest parts of his offensive profile. Williamson converted 60.1% of his two-point attempts and averaged 5.4 free throws made per game, although he attempted only 0.1 three-pointers per game.
The 2025-26 season was Williamson’s sixth NBA campaign. He has now appeared in 276 regular-season games, averaging 23.8 points, 6.4 rebounds and 4.1 assists while shooting 59.1% from the field.
Availability, however, remains central to Williamson’s trajectory. He played 24 games as a rookie, 61 in 2020-21, missed the entire 2021-22 season because of injury and then appeared in 29 games in 2022-23 before reaching 70 games in 2023-24 and 30 in 2024-25.
The Pelicans finished 26-56 last season, 11th in the Western Conference and outside the postseason. Trey Murphy III led New Orleans at 21.5 points per game, while Williamson ranked second at 21.0.
New Orleans also added young frontcourt talent during the 2026 offseason after selecting Derik Queen previously and developing Jeremiah Fears, who averaged 14.3 points and 3.4 assists in his rookie season. That puts additional emphasis on Williamson’s ability to establish himself as the centerpiece of a developing roster.
