Zion Williamson leaves NBA bubble for 'urgent' family matter

ByANDREW LOPEZ
July 16, 2020, 12:19 PM

The New Orleans Pelicans announced that forward Zion Williamson left the NBA bubble at the Walt Disney World Resort on Thursday morning because of an urgent family medical matter and that he intends to rejoin the team at a later date.

"We fully support Zion's decision to leave the NBA campus to be with his family," Pelicans executive vice president of basketball operations David Griffin said in a statement. "Out of respect for the Williamson family, we will have no further comment at this time."

Williamson will quarantine for four 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 seven days or less.

If he is gone longer than a week, he will quarantine for four days if he has a negative test for the final seven days he is gone. If he doesn't have the required testing, he will quarantine for 10 days.

Williamson has played in just 19 games in his rookie season for the Pelicans after coming back from meniscus surgery in January.

The Pelicans' push for a playoff spot starts on July 30 when the team plays the Utah Jazz on the opening night of the league's restart.

Williamson practiced with the Pelicans in Orlando last week and told reporters he had spent the time off during the NBA hiatus working out with his stepfather, Lee Anderson, when he wasn't rehabbing with Pelicans staffers.