WATCH: NBA Hall Of Famer Gives Hilarious Diet Advice To Zion Williamson

Some believe that Zion Williamson needs to lose some excess weight in order to reach his full potential.

Even before entering the league in 2019, Williamson was already a bit chunky for a college hooper.

His listed weight as a rookie was 280 pounds, but he was rumored to have gained about 50 pounds at one point while being sidelined due to injury.

According to Fitness Volt’s Weight Gain Calculator, an athlete of Williamson’s age and weight needed at least “328 days” of consuming “3,204” calories a day to gain 50 pounds.

However, the New Orleans Pelicans star did it in just seven months from his last NBA game in May 2021, having reportedly weighed around 330 pounds by December.

If there’s anybody in the NBA who can give Williamson some pep talk about his situation, it will be no other than Charles Barkley.

Following the reports of Williamson’s massive weight gain, Barkley--who also dealt with the same dilemma at some point during his playing years--gave the former No. 1 pick some simple, yet helpful advice.

“I’m going to put Zion on that diet I was on at one point,” Barkley said. “If it tastes good, spit it out.”

“We want this kid to get healthy ‘cause he got so much talent,” he added. “He seems like a great kid. You could make [like] a billion dollars. If you could just get your weight under control.”

The Pelicans organization has been supportive of Williamson’s situation.

A previous report from ESPN stated that the team has “changed members of the staff and even changed some of their culinary practices” in an attempt to protect Williamson from gaining any more excess weight.

Apparently, such efforts did not go to waste as things seem to be working out well for the 21-year-old thus far.

Earlier in March, Williamson reportedly lost about “24 pounds” prior to showing up in a Pelicans team practice for the first time.

Williamson is likely to miss the remainder of the regular season.

According to ESPN’s Andrew Lopez, there’s still “no timetable” for his potential return.

“There has been no timetable given for a return to play if Williamson returns at all this season after fracturing the fifth metatarsal in his right foot in offseason workouts,” Lopez wrote.

“He was seen Wednesday (March 23) playing one-on-one with player development coach Corey Brewer, elevating on his jump shot, going off the dribble, and dunking multiple times."