Zion Williamson won't play in Pelicans play-in game Friday because of hamstring injury

New Orleans Pelicans forward Zion Williamson is out of Friday's NBA play-in game against the Sacramento Kings with a hamstring strain.

The Pelicans announced the diagnosis on Wednesday following the results of an MRI. He'll be re-evaluated in approximately two weeks.

Williamson injured his hamstring late in Tuesday's Pelicans loss to the Los Angeles Lakers. The loss in the first round of the play-in tournament sent the Pelicans to an elimination game against the Kings on Friday. The winner of that game will secure the No. 8 seed in the Western Conference playoffs. The loser's season will be over.

Even if the Pelicans win on Friday, it doesn't sound like Williamson would be available to play in the first round of the playoffs based on the timeline provided by the Pelicans. The winner of Friday's game will face the No. 1 seed Oklahoma City Thunder in the first round.

The news is a significant blow to the Pelicans on the cusp of the postseason. It marks the latest setback to Williamson's injury-plagued career. Various injuries have limited Williamson since the Pelicans selected him with the No. 1 pick in the 2019 NBA Draft. In five NBA seasons, Williamson's been limited to 184 of a possible 410 regular season games.

Until Tuesday's injury, Williamson's 2023-24 campaign was his most promising yet. He played in a career-high 70 games, averaging 22.9 points, 5.8 rebounds and five assists per game while shooting 57% from the field. He addressed conditioning concerns that have plagued him throughout his career, having reportedly lost 25 pounds since December.

With a playoff spot on the line Tuesday night, Williamson was in the midst of one of the best games of his career prior to his injury. Williamson tallied 40 points, 11 rebounds, five assists, one steal and one block while shooting 17 of 27 from the field. He came up with multiple stops of LeBron James and helped rally the Pelicans from an 18-point deficit to tie the game late in the fourth quarter.

He dunked to tie the game at 93-93. He then hit a floater in traffic to tie the game at 95-95 with 3:19 remaining.

But that's when he got hurt. He grimaced after landing from the layup and immediately pointed to the bench to remove himself from the game. He pulled his jersey over his head at the next whistle and walked in frustration to the locker room shortly after. He did not return to the game. The Lakers went on to a 110-106 win.

Williamson is still waiting to make his NBA playoff debut.