New Orleans, Louisiana - After missing out on the 2023 NBA playoffs, New Orleans Pelican CJ McCollum did not hold back his frustration and shaded who many believe to be his frequently injured teammate.

New Orleans power forward Zion Williamson was throwing down windmill dunks before Wednesday night's play-in game against the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Though he told reporters ahead of the game that he feels fine, interestingly enough, he wasn't ready to actually suit up for the game.

Then, his teammate McCollum revealed on Wednesday that he will undergo thumb surgery now that New Orleans' season is over, and he did so after throwing what many fans believe to be subtle shade at Williamson.

NBA New York Liberty receives hero's welcome with ticker-tape parade for WNBA title!

Speaking to reporters after the Pelicans' 123-118 loss to OKC, McCollum made some eye-opening statements about playing through pain:

"Throughout my career, I've always been the type of player to do whatever it takes to help the team. I could have took the easy way out, gotten surgery, sat out and watched. I'm not that type of person, I'm not that type of player."

McCollum added: "Even though it affected by performance some nights, I never made excuses. I just go compete and do the best that I can."

It's no secret that Williamson is partially known for his lack of play in the professional basketball world

Over the past two seasons, injuries have limited Williamson to just 29 games and a total of 114 throughout his entire NBA career since being drafted in 2019.

Much like McCollum, sports fans are seemingly over Williamson's injury shenanigans and didn't hesitate to share their thoughts on social media.

NBA WNBA Finals: Sabrina Ionescu seals Liberty lead over Lynx in stunning Game 3 final play

"Feel like everyone has coddled Zion and this was needed to be said by a vet in public," one fan tweeted.

"I'm sorry but he right. Zion be doin windmill dunks during practice just to sit his big a** on the bench every game," another fan added, while someone else wrote, "This is a CRAZY sneak diss omg,"

With Williamson's frequent injury status, there will be many questions for the New Orleans Pelicans to answer during the offseason.