Former Duke basketball star Zion Williamson left the NBA bubble to attend to a family emergency, but is expected to return at some point.
The New Orleans Pelicans announced Thursday afternoon that rookie star Zion Williamson left the NBA bubble to attend to a family emergency.
Williamson is expected to rejoin the team sometime during the NBA reboot, but he will have to submit to NBA security precautions upon his return, including negative testing for COVID-19 multiple times and self-quarantine for a number. specific days.
According to multiple reports, the duration of Williamson’s quarantine is unknown at this time after the league can gather more information about his exit from the bubble.
Zion Williamson is a critical part of the Pelicans’ chances of making the Western Conference playoffs as the team will have eight games in the regular season to complete three and a half games in the Memphis Grizzlies for the number 8 spot.
Due to a knee injury that kept the former No. 1 overall for most of the season, Williamson limited himself to just 19 games, but is averaging 23.6 points, 6.8 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game.
The 20-year-old was slated to take center stage in the first game on the league restart, as the New Orleans Pelicans are slated to face the Utah Jazz on July 30 in the first game of a doubleheader. which also features the Los Angeles Lakers and Los Angeles Clippers.
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Zion Williamson was not the first player to leave the bubble, as Sacramento’s Richaun Holmes left the bubble for a food delivery and is now in quarantine, while the Clippers’ Montrezl Harrell also left the bubble to handle a family emergency.
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Hopefully everything will be fine with the Williamson family and Zion will be able to reunite with his teammates in Orlando sooner rather than later.