"Willie Green said Zion look great": Senior insider drops bombshell on Zion Williamson’s new "leadership "role with Pelicans

There's some positive news for New Orleans Pelicans fans regarding Zion Williamson’s changing role. Ahead of the 2025-26 regular season, NBA insider Marc J Spears reported that coach Willie Green confirmed that Williamson will step into a leadership position as he enters his seventh year in the league.

Williamson has dealt with injuries for a large part of his career but is now being trusted with a bigger role on and off the court. Spears revealed the same during an appearance on ESPN’s NBA Today show, after meeting Green in New Orleans.

"The day before I went fishing in New Orleans, I had dinner with Willie Green,” Spears said. “He said Zion looks great. He is showing a lot more leadership. ... I mean, this is a guy that's only played over 30 games twice in his career, missed a whole season, only played 30 games last season. But when Zion plays, they win.”

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Green also expressed his faith in Williamson’s ability, calling him one of the best players in the NBA. With the supporting cast the Pelicans have built around him, there's hope that Zion could guide the team to real success.

“Willie Green also said when Zion plays, he's one of the best players in the league,” Spears added. “I don't deny that either, but it's always if Zion plays. If you look at their roster, it's a lot deeper and better than a lot of people think. But Zion, a healthy Zion, has to take them there.”

Zion Williamson has already proven that when he's healthy, he's one of the league’s most dominant forces, with career averages of 24.7 points, 6.6 rebounds and 4.3 assists per game. The challenge has always been his availability, having missed 268 regular-season games, which overshadows his on-court brilliance.

Over the years, he has had problems with his knees, hamstrings, ankles and lower back. Most of these issues are connected to the toll his heavy frame puts on the body.

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Joe Dumars reveals details from conversation with Zion Williamson

Joe Dumars, the head of basketball operations for the franchise, had a candid conversation with Zion Williamson earlier this offseason to help him get mentally prepared for the year ahead. As training camp approached, Dumars opened up about the talk, sharing how he wanted to guide Zion toward greatness.

"The main thing that I've talked to Zion about is just responsibility and accountability," Dumars said on Monday. "What I've said to him is 'with greatness comes responsibility. You don't get to be great and not responsible.' And so it's just been a heavy emphasis on that. Just being accountable and responsible for what you do. It's not enough just to be talented."

Since being drafted in 2019, Zion and the Pelicans have only reached the playoffs twice, with both runs ending in the first round.

With Zion Williamson as the team’s leader, he will need to be motivated to not just get them back into the postseason but to go a step further and give the Pelicans a real chance to challenge the contenders.

Edited by Bhargav