LOS ANGELES (AFP) — The New Orleans Pelicans, out of National Basketball Association (NBA) playoff contention, are shutting down Zion Williamson and CJ McCollum for the rest of the regular season, the team said on Monday.

Williamson has been nursing a low back bone bruise he suffered in a fall during a game on 19 March while McCollum has been sidelined by a right foot bone bruise from a loss to Detroit on 23 March.

It marked another season in which injuries contributed to a disappointing season for New Orleans, starting with the broken hand suffered by newly acquired star guard Dejounte Murray in the season-opener.

Murray suffered a torn Achilles tendon later in the season and 24-year-old big man Williamson missed time with a hamstring strain.

Williamson made a strong return from that injury, finishing the season averaging 24.6 points, 7.2 rebounds and 5.3 assists per game — but he only played 30 games.

The former No. 1 overall draft pick was hoping for better after playing in a career-high 70 games in the 2023-24 season.

But with seven games left in the regular season the Pelicans are next to last in the Western Conference.