CJ McCollum is emphatic that Zion Williamson is putting the work in.
McCollum, the NBA veteran who is the president of the players association, spoke to The Post on behalf of a partnership with Pampers.
Williamson, McCollum’s teammate on the Pelicans, played in just 29 games last season after missing the entire 2021-22 season, and had a publicly volatile offseason in which he was repeatedly harangued by a jilted lover who has produced adult content.
There have been persistent questions about whether Williamson has been doing everything in his power to have the requisite conditioning for his body to hold up for a professional schedule.
Nevertheless, by all appearances, Williamson is now in perhaps the best shape of his life, and his preseason performance has been promising.
McCollum affirmed that Williamson’s discipline behind the scenes backs up what meets the eye.
“I do feel like he has matured a lot. I feel like he has an understanding of what’s expected of him and exactly what he needs to do consistently in order to be available,” McCollum said.
“I think he understands how good he can be when he’s doing the little things. Playing the game is the easiest thing for him. He’s a gamer, the lights are on, he likes to show off — and really just show how good he is at the sport.
“The hard part is the day-to-day stuff. I think he’s gotten a lot better at that, which will allow him to be a lot more successful — consistently — throughout an entire season.”
What does that day-to-day stuff entail?
“I think the day-to-day stuff is the things we neglect the most,” McCollum said.
“Taking care of your body. Foam rolling. Stretching. The little things that you don’t really have to do when you’re younger. You just have to hoop. But as you get older, it’s about body maintenance. It’s about prep before practice. It’s about getting your correctives in. He’s taken strides and our organization has taken strides to make sure that we’re doing things the right way.”
McCollum also said he has noticed a change in Williamson’s diet discipline.
“I have, actually,” McCollum said.
“He sits next to me in the locker room and on the plane and I have seen a concerted effort in doing all things the right way, which is good for all of us.”
McCollum also explained how his sponsorship with Pampers came about.
“It came about because I’m a father, with another kid on the way, and I thought it was important to align myself with things that are authentic to me and my lifestyle,” he said.
“The other thing is that Pampers swaddlers have an elite level of protection, and having experienced blowouts and leaks, historically, throughout my son Jacoby’s 21 months of life, I thought it was just important to prevent up to 100 percent of leaks and blowouts.”
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