Slimmed-down and motivated Zion Williamson might be ready to take league by storm

A slimmed-down Zion Williamson appears ready to have the best season of his career with the New Orleans Pelicans.

Fair or not, one of the bigger narratives surrounding Zion Williamson through the first few years of his career in the NBA has revolved around his conditioning. While he's been a very good and effective player when healthy, Zion has had to endure a ton of body-shaming. However, a recent photo of Zion seems to suggest that he may be in the best shape of his life.

Appearing to be much more slimmed-down, it seems entering the offseason with a full bill of health has certainly helped his conditioning. The start of the New Orleans Pelicans training camp is still a little more than a month away, but it appears Zion is ready to take the league by storm this year.

Zion Williamson might be in the best shape of his life

I'm not sure how much overreaction there should be for this photo but it's clear that Zion looks slimmed down. Is he in the best shape of his life? Who knows. But he's certainly slimmed down compared to years past - and this is before the start of training camp. A lot can change in a month but this has to make many in New Orleans front office happy.

As the Pelicans look to retool their roster a bit away from Brandon Ingram and more toward a Murray-Zion build, it's encouraging to see that Zion has taken the offseason seriously. For a player who has struggled with his conditioning through the first few years of his career - to some respects in part because of injury - the photo evidence of where Zion is at this point in the offseason could be viewed as promising.

But, again, a photo is a photo. And I'm not sure there's a ton of stock that can be placed in it. However, I'm also not going to water down the excitement that the Pelicans may have. Toward the end of last season, Zion was playing some of the best basketball of his career. If he managed to carry that momentum into this offseason, there's hope he can pick up right where he left off at the start of this season.

And if that does end up being the case, the Pelicans could emerge as a very dangerous team in the Western Conference this season. If Zion is preparing to take the league by storm, perhaps we shouldn't overlook the Pelicans all that much.