Zion Williamson says new Pelicans exec Joe Dumars is demanding

Sep 23, 2025, 04:39 PM ET

METAIRIE, La. — Zion Williamson expects Joe Dumars to be tough on him.

He wants that. And perhaps, he needs that.

“I like Joe; what you see is what you get,” Williamson said Tuesday, on the eve of his seventh training camp with the New Orleans Pelicans.

“He’s going to hold me accountable, and as he holds me accountable, he’s going to give me a lot of responsibility as well, which I’m excited for,” the 25-year-old Williamson added. “I know he’s going to hold me to a really high standard, and if I slip up or anything, I know he’s going to be right there to make sure I get right back on the path.”

When the Pelicans hired Dumars as executive vice president of basketball operations last April, it wasn’t entirely clear whether he and his general manager, Troy Weaver, saw Williamson as the centerpiece of the franchise’s future.

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The past six seasons had been largely disappointing for the Pelicans and the charismatic, 6-foot-6, 284-pound power forward they drafted No. 1 out of Duke in 2019.

Williamson’s career average of 24.7 points per game, and his slew of explosive, above-the-rim highlights, have been tarnished by a series of injuries that have caused him to miss more games (268) than he’s played (214) since turning pro.

Williamson has yet to appear in a single postseason game. And although the Pelicans have twice advanced to the NBA playoffs while Williamson was injured, they lost in the first round both times.

Williamson said he, Dumars and Weaver “sat down and we had some man-to-man conversations.”

“They embraced me and I just told them, ‘I’m not going to let y’all down,'” Williamson said. “It helped a lot that they really believed in me.”

Dumars and coach Willie Green said they have been encouraged by the regularity of Williamson’s presence at team headquarters this offseason.

“I saw his work this summer, his attention to his body, his conditioning,” Green said. “He wants to be available for his teammates.”

Pelicans wing Trey Murphy III said Williamson “looks good — slimmer than I’ve ever seen him during the summer time, which is always a good sign. And I feel like he’s in a really good place mentally.”

Williamson’s workouts have included elements of boxing and drills run on football fields that also are used by the NFL’s New Orleans Saints. Like the Pelicans, the Saints are owned by Gayle Benson and practice on the same campus.

“I really felt a shift in my body,” Williamson said, crediting Pelicans Director of Performance Daniel Bove. “It feels good to feel good.”

Dumars said he’s spoken to Williamson about how much more than talent the pursuit of greatness entails. They’ve discussed work ethic, commitment, discipline, leadership, responsibility and accountability.

Dumars noted that he wants Williamson “to be first one to step to the media” after a game and speak for the team after games that didn’t go well.

“Face questions, be respectful,” Dumars said.

The Pelicans went 21-61 last season, when Williamson missed 52 games, mostly because of hamstring and back injuries. New Orleans went 11-41 without its star power forward, but was also missing several other injured starters, including Murphy and Herb Jones, who are both back from shoulder injuries, and guard Dejounte Murray, who is still recovering from an Achilles tendon injury.

Meanwhile, Dumars’ offseason moves included the acquisitions of Kevin Looney and Jordan Poole, who both were part of the Golden State Warriors’ 2022 championship team.

“They went through the journey, they went through the playoffs, they felt the energy and they lived it,” Williamson said. “So, that type of experience, you just can’t get anywhere.”

Williamson said he’s well aware of Dumars’ accolades as a player – his 1989 NBA Finals MVP honors with the Detroit Pistons, a brash and tenacious title-winning team known as the “Bad Boys.”

Dumars also won a title as president of basketball operations for the Pistons in 2004.

Now Williamson sounds eager to put Dumars’ advice into practice.

“Greatness is every day,” Williamson said. “Greatness is when you don’t want to do it … you (still) show up every day and you make it happen.”

“Whatever my team needs,” Williamson added. “That’s what I’ll do.”

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