Zion Williamson's improved defense has been obvious in his return from injury

NEW ORLEANS Sometimes, one look can tell an entire story.

For Zion Williamson, a glance at one of his teammates facial expressions last season has stuck with him for months.

Last March, the Pelicans were caught up in a slugfest with the LA Clippers that came down to the last few minutes of the game.

While Williamson was responsible for guarding Clippers star Kawhi Leonard much of the night, Pelicans forward Trey Murphy III came over during a possession in the fourth quarter to offer relief.

Advertisement Williamson denied Murphys request.

I thought for a second, then I said, F that, I got him, Williamson told The Athletic last summer.

In that moment, you can see different expressions in your teammates faces.

Sometimes, itll be like, Dude, why are you doing this? There was no hesitation.

There was no funny look on (Murphys) face.

Moments like that, that (stuff) means a lot to me.

My teammates trust me to go handle this assignment.

For much of his career, Williamsons defense has been a glaring weakness in his game.

Even though hes been a dominant scorer since he stepped into the league, his shortcomings as a defender often forced his coaches and teammates to go out of their way to cover up his mistakes.

Williamson remembers the looks from his teammates when theyd have to send a double team because he was caught on an island.

He remembers coaches explaining to him why they needed to hide him on inferior offensive players against other teams.

Murphys glance of reassurance was validation of the player Williamson was trying to become a two-way difference maker.

A huge part of that transformation has come from him getting in the best shape of his career.

It started after some of the pitfalls he went through last season.

It led to him intensifying his work away from the court to improve physically and mentally.

Despite missing two months earlier this season with yet another hamstring injury, hes worked consistently to maintain elite conditioning.

Since his return, hes starting to look like a player whos ready to improve significantly on defense.

GO DEEPER What's behind Zion Williamson's newfound drive? Trust Its beyond him no longer being the weakest link.

Now, hes becoming one of the most impactful defenders on the roster.

Even while playing on a minutes restriction, Williamson is showing hes prepared to take the next step in his career and evolve from a dominant scorer to an excellent two-way player.

Advertisement He takes pride in it.

He comes to the bench and he says, I got it.

You dont need to do all that extra stuff to help me, Pelicans defensive ace Jose Alvarado said.

When it comes to defense, I think whats most important is do you want to do it and do you have pride.

Then, the rest of it will take care of itself.

Williamson is displaying that pride.

Since he has played just 13 games this season and hes exceeded 30 minutes only three times, its tough to compare what hes doing to some of the other great defenders around the league.

But some of the numbers hes putting up on a per-36 basis are remarkable.

This season, hes averaging a startling 29.8 points, 10.3 rebounds and 6.3 assists per 36 minutes.

However, his 1.5 steals and 1.6 blocks per 36 stand out even more.

The only other players averaging at least 1.5 steals and 1.5 blocks per 36 this season are defensive dynamos Jaren Jackson Jr., Jonathan Isaac and Precious Achuiwa (minimum of 300 total minutes).

Williamsons defensive transformation began late last season once his weight started dropping and the Pelicans caught fire after an uneven start to the season.

Combining his final 20 games of the 2023-24 season and the 13 games hes played this season, Williamson has accumulated 48 steals and 37 blocks over 33 games.

His disruptiveness has only added to the identity the Pelicans hope to make a core part of their identity once they can consistently put Williamson, Herb Jones, Yves Missi and Dejounte Murray on the floor together.

I love it.

When it comes down to it, winning teams defend the basketball, Murray said.

(Its great) to see him want to defend, being on the help side, being available, all those things.

Its good to see Z out there competing and doing what he loves to do.

Williamsons speed and explosiveness make him a threat wherever he is on the floor at all times.

One of his specialties is spotting a ballhandler in a vulnerable moment and attacking them like a defensive end turning the corner and crushing a quarterback from his blind side.

He pounces so quickly and attacks the ball with so much force that opposing players rarely see it coming.

The addition of Missi as a young, athletic rim protector has provided an element that the Pels defense has been missing.

Williamson has also provided some weakside rim protection that forces opponents to think twice when they roam into the lane.

As Missi and Williamson get more time together and develop cohesion defensively, they have a chance to become one of the more formidable frontlines in the Western Conference because of their versatility and athleticism.

Theres still a lot of room for them to grow.

Missi is only 20.

The two sharing the floor more can only help.

Having them on the back line will only make feisty on-ball defenders like Jones, Alvarado and Murray even more dangerous.

Advertisement Im feeling like I dont have to exert as much energy to get to a certain speed.

I feel my moves are more swift.

I definitely see the difference, Williamson said on Thursday.

My movements are swifter.

So, when someone tries to change directions, I can beat them to the spot.

Outside of the numbers in the box score, Williamsons one-on-one defense has been his clearest area of growth.

A few years ago, the Pelicans opponents tried to isolate on Williamson on switches, forcing him to guard players off the dribble.

When his conditioning wasnt as good, it was tougher for him to keep up.

Hed often give up easy drives to the lane or the Pelicans would have to compromise their defense by sending additional help his way.

Now, Williamson is sliding his feet well.

Hes being disruptive with his hands.

Hes being smarter about how he contests shots and not falling for foul-baiting tricks.

His overall awareness on defense has also improved.

Hes making a lot of the little plays that go unnoticed but ultimately make a big difference in wins and losses.

Just look at these two plays from Wednesdays loss to Dallas: In the first half, the Pelicans were defending a screening action with Mavericks star Kyrie Irving at the top of the key.

Irving aborts the play and attempts to make a quick pass to the diving Daniel Gafford as he rolls down the lane.

Williamson leaves his man, PJ Washington, at the top of the key and steps in front of Gafford to slow him down.

Williamson then reaches in to knock the ball away, getting the Pels out in transition.

In the fourth quarter, the Mavericks tried to target Williamson with off-ball screening actions for Klay Thompson.

Williamson is guarding Washington once again, but once he sees Thompson juke Murphy and cut toward the lane, Williamson leaves his man once again and defends the front of the rim without fouling.

Thompson missed the layup attempt over Williamson, resulting in the Pelicans running again.

This is the stuff that shows how much thought Williamson is putting into becoming a better defender.

Hes not just hunting for highlight plays.

Hes bought into the overall concept of the defense.

The better he gets on that end, the easier itll be for New Orleans to reclaim the defensive identity thats slipped away during this injury-riddled season.

As always, the most important aspect of Williamsons maturation is consistency and health.

The better he is in those two areas, the quicker he can prove his two-way dominance is here to stay.

(Photo: Scott Kinser / Imagn Images).

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