Pelicans Star Zion Williamson Leaves NBA Bubble, Will Rejoin Team At Later Date

ORLANDO, Fla. – New Orleans Pelicans superstar forward Zion Williamson has left the NBA bubble in Orlando and plans to return for season restart at a later date.

New Orleans sent out a press release on Thursday saying that Williamson has left the bubble in order to tend to an urgent family medical matter.

The Pelicans play in the first game of the NBA restart against the Utah Jazz on Thursday, July 30.

“We fully support Zion’s decision to leave the NBA campus to be with his family,” said Pelicans Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations David Griffin. “Out of respect for the Williamson family, we will have no further comment at this time.”

Zion Williamson update: pic.twitter.com/eShAPl1gB2

— New Orleans Pelicans (@PelicansNBA) July 16, 2020

Leaving the bubble means that Williamson will have to quarantine when he returns. Tim Bontemps of ESPN tweeted that Williamson will quarantine for 4 days upon return to the NBA’s bubble if he has a negative test each day he’s outside the bubble if he is gone for 7 days or less or each day for the final 7 days he is gone if longer than one week. If he doesn’t, he will quarantine for 10 days.

Zion Williamson will quarantine for 4 days upon return to the NBA's bubble if he has a negative test each day he's outside the bubble if he's gone for 7 days or less, or each day for the final 7 days he's gone if longer than that. If he doesn't, he will quarantine for 10 days.

— Tim Bontemps (@TimBontemps) July 16, 2020

With that in mind, it is unknown when Williamson will return to the bubble so it’s uncertain if he will play in the opener against the Jazz. The Jazz and Pelicans play each other in two weeks.

Williamson played 19 games before the NBA halted play in March. At the time, Williamson was averaging 23.6 points, 6.8 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game.

The Jazz and Pelicans will tip-off at 4:30 p.m. MT on July 30. The game will be televised on TNT and AT&T SportsNet.