When the Portland Trail Blazers take the court on opening night, Robert Williams III will not be in the lineup. The former Boston Celtic is still ramping up for his return after a knee injury limited him to 20 tilts in the 2024-25 campaign.
As the Trail Blazers prepare for their matchup against Anthony Edwards and the Minnesota Timberwolves, Williams's official designation on their injury report is "return to competition reconditioning."
That the seven-year veteran is unavailable for opening night should not come as a surprise. At media day in Portland, the 28-year-old from Shreveport, Louisiana, shared that he had yet to get cleared for full contact.