Skeptical Stephen A. Smith acknowledges Zion Williamson’s weight loss but refuses to put him on superstar pedestal

Zion Williamson has been having an impressive stretch since the start of the new year. After missing most of November and all of December, Williamson returned to action in January, playing in seven of the New Orleans Pelicans' games.

Since then, Williamson has not only shown that he has what it takes to compete at an elite level but also that his weight problems may very well be a thing of the past. With a 24.6 points per game average to go along with 6.4 rebounds and 6.6 assists, Zion Williamson has left many fans and analysts impressed.

Despite that, ESPN's First Take host, Stephen A. Smith, isn't ready to call him a star just yet. During Wednesday's installment of First Take, Smith spoke to Brian Windhorst about Zion Williamson's second career triple-double on Tuesday night against the LA Clippers.

"He deserves a boatload of credit, and I'm here to give it to him. To be 20 pounds under his playing weight at 265 is a testament to a level of dedication he is showing that, quite frankly, he hasn't shown in the past.

"According to everybody close to him, as well as the Pelicans organization, ... Even though you're a superstar caliber talent, you're not a superstar because you're almost never available."

As Smith pointed out, Williamson has played just 27 of a possible 66 games for the Pelicans this season.

"I demand more from my franchise player," - Shaquille O'Neal urges Zion Williamson to step up his scoring numbers

As mentioned, Zion Williamson recorded his second-ever triple-double on Tuesday as he and the Pelicans picked up a 127-120 win over Kawhi Leonard and the LA Clippers.

The game saw Williamson erupt for 22 points, 10 rebounds and 12 assists over 33 minutes, however, the way Shaquille O'Neal sees things, any player can score 20 points now.

During Tuesday's installment of NBA on TNT, the four-time champ and Hall of Famer said that nowadays, anyone can score 20 points. When it comes to a franchise player like Williamson, O'Neal wants him to score closer to 30 points if he wants his stamp of approval.

"You're giving him props for that? I need more. Yeah, I need more. Twenty? I need 26, 27. I demand from my franchise player you're paying the max. Don't be giving props for 20 points. Anybody can get 20 points now... That's good but that's not good enough."

O'Neal proceeded to say that if the Pelicans were in third or even fourth place in the West with Williamson putting up triple-double numbers, he would be impressed. Given that the team currently has the second-worst record in the West, O'Neal wants to see more consistency from the former No. 1 overall pick.