Zion Williamson's stepfather, Lee Anderson, said he expects Williamson to return to play this season, but acknowledged that it is a decision that will be made with the medical staff of the New Orleans Pelicans.
The Pelicans will be in the play-in tournament as Williamson continues his rehab from a broken foot.
Anderson made the comments on Tuesday to "The Jordy Culotta Show," an online show based in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
"I expect him to play. If you were to ask Zion, I'm sure he would probably say the same thing," Anderson said. "But with just a couple of games left, with the magnitude of what's going on in New Orleans and the opportunity to qualify for the play-in game and possibly get into a seven-game series, that would be off the charts in the city of New Orleans. That would be a plus in New Orleans. That would be a plus for Zion with the way things are right now."
"Do I expect him to play? Certainly I do. That's on me though. That's purely me. I don't think there's anything else that would hinder him from doing that right now."
Williamson has been cleared by the Pelicans to do 1-on-1 work as he continues his rehab.
"He's feeling great," Anderson said. "Speaking for the Pelicans staff, and not saying any names, they mentioned to me that they are just one player away from being where we need to be at. That was enough for me to know that they are putting some stock in Zion getting healthy and being ready for the long haul.
"But my thing with the long haul, you have to wait on it. The short haul, sometimes when you're faced with an opportunity right now, you never know when you're going to be presented with that opportunity again in the long haul or how long it'll be from that time. I'm a guy that believes in taking advantage of the moment at hand. Let's deal with it right now and let's go forward and see what happens."