Pelicans’ Zion Williamson earns second All-Star nod of career

Zion Williamson was named an All-Star for the second time in his career Thursday, and in a surprising twist, he will be a starter in the Feb. 19 game in Salt Lake City so long as he has recovered from the right hamstring strain that has sidelined him for almost a month.

It seemed unlikely the 22-year-old forward would be named a starter. He was fourth in the fan voting process among Western Conference frontcourt players when the latest results were released last week. The fan vote is 50% of the formula that determines the starters in each conference. The other 50% is a combination of player and media voting.

Williamson is averaging 26.0 points on 60.8% shooting, 7.0 rebounds and 4.6 assists in the 29 games he has played. The Pelicans have posted a 17-12 record with him in the lineup. Their record without him is 9-11.

Williamson briefly led the Pelicans to the top of the Western Conference, but they have plunged back to fourth place in the 3½ weeks he has been sidelined.

Williamson hurt his right hamstring in a Jan. 2 game against the Philadelphia 76ers. On Tuesday, the Pelicans said Williamson would be re-evaluated in two weeks. That means Williamson is set to be re-evaluated on Feb. 7, which is 12 days before the All-Star Game.

The other four All-Star starters from the West are Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors, Luka Doncic of the Dallas Mavericks, Nikola Jokic of the Denver Nuggets and LeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers.

The five Eastern Conference starters are Jayson Tatum of the Boston Celtics, Kevin Durant of the Brooklyn Nets, Kyrie Irving of the Brooklyn Nets, Donovan Mitchell of the Cleveland Cavaliers and Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Milwaukee Bucks.

James and Antetokounmpo were the leading vote-getters in each conference, which means that they will serve as captains and get to hand-pick their own rosters. For the first time, the NBA All-Star draft will take place on the same night of the game. James and Antetokounmpo will pick teams playground style shortly before tipoff.

All-Star reserves will be announced Feb. 2. 

Williamson previously was named an All-Star in 2021. That was during the pandemic-compressed season. Williamson participated in an All-Star Game held in Atlanta that was played in front of no fans.

The All-Star Game held next month will be a considerably livelier atmosphere. Williamson has a little more than three weeks to get healthy.