The 2025-26 NBA season couldn’t be going much worse for the New Orleans Pelicans. After a slow start, the team fired head coach Willie Green just weeks into the season, which is never a good sign. Unsurprisingly, things haven’t gone much better under new interim head coach James Borrego.
Not only do the Pelicans have the worst record in the Western Conference at 3-18, they have the worst record in the entire NBA. They’re at, or near, the bottom in virtually all measurable metrics and have inspired no reason for hope or optimism from fans in the Big Easy.
Zion Williamson to be sidelined with grade 2 right hip adductor strain
And now, things have gone from bad to worse for New Orleans, as star forward Zion Williamson will be sidelined for at least three weeks with a grade 2 right hip adductor strain, the team announced. That injury will likely keep Williamson out of action for the remainder of the calendar year.
This will be the second substantial injury for Williamson on the season, as he recently missed a chunk of time with a hamstring injury.
The Pelicans didn’t look like a team poised to turn things around and make any sort of a playoff push even with Williamson in the lineup, but this latest injury is the final nail in the coffin for the Pelicans’ season. It’s done. Put a fork in it.
By the time Williamson could potentially come back, the Pelicans will likely be so far outside of the playoff picture that it won’t even matter, if they aren’t already. Would anyone even be surprised if the Pelicans ultimately decide that it isn’t even worth it to bring the oft-injured Williamson back this season? I know I wouldn’t be.
This is just the latest in what feels like a never-ending string of injuries for the uber-talented Williamson. When he’s out on the court, he’s awesome, but a lack of availability has defined his entire tenure with the Pelicans. And given Williamson’s well-documented availability issues, the Pelicans would have an extremely difficult time trying to find a suitable trade for the former top pick.
So, they’re kind of stuck. The franchise player can’t stay on the floor and the rest of the roster has been unable to remain competitive.
To make matters worse for the Pelicans, and Pelicans fans, the team doesn’t even have a lottery pick to look forward at the end of this slog of a season. Normally, the prospect of adding a top talent through the draft is a silver lining for a losing team. A light at the end of the tunnel, if you will. The Pelicans don’t even have that as they traded their first round pick in the ’26 draft to the Atlanta Hawks for the No. 13 overall pick in the ’25 draft. There were no protections on the pick.
The Pelicans used that pick on Derik Queen, who has been a rare bright spot for New Orleans this season and looks like a building block for the future. But, Queen’s promising play doesn’t negate the fact that not having a top pick is a major issue for New Orleans.
Since they have the worst record in the league, the Pelicans are currently projected to land the No. 1 overall pick in the draft. But again, that pick will be going to Atlanta.
So, where does that leave the Pelicans? Seemingly without much hope for the present, or future.