Zion Williamson celebrated his twenty second birthday Wednesday by signing a $193 million, five-year contract extension with the New Orleans Pelicans.
Williamson joined Pelicans administration to announce the deal at a press convention on the Dryades YMCA in New Orleans.
“I need to show that I’m a winner. Easy as that. I need to win with coach. I need to win with my teammates. The final word objective is to win a championship,” said Williamson.
The six-foot-six energy ahead acknowledged final season’s controversy on his want to play in New Orleans.
“The previous couple of months had been a roller-coaster of feelings,” Williamson said. “The world simply ran with narratives, and so when my household was going out in public, they’re getting harassed by individuals about why we don’t like New Orleans or why we don’t need to be right here when that’s not the case in any respect.
“I wasn’t in a position to play as a result of my foot was broke,” Williamson continued. “Each time I checked my telephone it’s at all times one thing detrimental. Even while you’re making an attempt to make optimistic of the scenario, it was very robust.”
𝗗𝗢𝗡𝗘 𝗗𝗘𝗔𝗟: @ZionWilliamson has signed a contract extension with the #Pelicans! 💪 pic.twitter.com/zKiXS1ku9W
— New Orleans Pelicans (@PelicansNBA) July 6, 2022
“It is a actually momentous event for all of us,” mentioned David Griffin, the Pelicans’ government vice chairman of basketball operations. “What Zion Williamson did immediately is specific his dedication to this group and to this metropolis and to this group. So the noise that’s on the periphery of all of that’s fully irrelevant.”
“This is a chance for us as a corporation to essentially put to mattress a lot of things that were said.”
Williamson, the No. 1 decide of the 2019 Draft, has solely performed 85 video games in his three-year profession averaging 25.7 factors, 7.0 rebounds, and three.2 assists.
He sat out the whole 2021-22 season with a foot injury.
