"Personal shots" - NBA fans clown Stephen A. Smith for dubbing Zion Williamson 'bust' after Pelicans shut him down for season 

As the regular season comes to a close, the New Orleans Pelicans decided to shut down Zion Williamson. In light of this news, fans bashed Stephen A. Smith for his latest comments regarding the former All-Star.

Dating back to the start of his career, Stephen A. has never been shy about his thoughts regarding Williamson. He's doubted his ability to take care of himself from a physical standpoint and has regularly brought up his lack of availability. Now set to miss the final games of the season, the ESPN host once again took aim at Williamson.

While on ESPN's "First Take," Smith let out a bold take following Zion Williamson being shut down. He believes that the New Orleans Pelicans star has moved into the bust category after once being a highly-touted prospect.

"When he's on the court and healthy, he's a monster," Smith said. "The problem is, he's rarely available. As great as he is, the word bust comes to mind."

Following his latest comments, NBA fans flooded social media to bash him for calling Williamson a bust.

Seeing what he's been able to do when he's in action, fans were not pleased to see the bust tossed around when discussing Williamson.

"Another day another L take from Stephen L," one fan said.

"He's not a bust though. Lol." Another fan said.

"Oh brother that's not what that word means," said one fan.

Williamson ends this season with just 30 games played. In that time, he averaged 24.6 points, 7.2 rebounds and 5.3 assists. Upon officially being shut down, it marks the fourth time in his career he's played in 30 or fewer games.

---

Former NBA player gives his thoughts on Pelicans potentially trading Zion Williamson

Over the past few years, there have been countless debates on whether the New Orleans Pelicans should cut their losses and trade Zion Williamson. In light of him being shut down for the season, this speculation has started to circle back around.

During Tuesday's edition of "Run It Back," former NBA forward Chandler Parsons was asked his thoughts on Williamson being moved. At this point, he doesn't see a team giving up much of value for a player with such a lengthy injury history.

"I do think they have a lot of assets that people would be interested in, starting with Zion," Parsons said. "But I don't know how much you're willing to give up for a guy that's been consistently hurt his whole career."

After playing 70 games last season, it looked like Zion Williamson was turning a corner. This did not end up being the case, as he was sidelined for most of the 2025 campaign. All the Pelicans can do now is work with him behind the scenes to try and get him right physically for next season and beyond.