Zion Williamson has rediscovered himself. Last week, he finished overtime against the Phoenix Suns with a game he made in high school. He was 16 when a video of him going viral: Zion culminating in a counterattack with a dunk after a 360-degree mid-air spin. “I need to see the birth certificate. It’s not possible!” commented one comedian. Yes, it was. Zion Williamson, the dominant high school player, unstoppable one-on-one, a physical powerhouse with incredible bounce, now plays in the NBA. With him are the The New Orleans Pelicans have flown to the top of the American professional basketball league’s Western Conference despite losing the lead to the Memphis Grizzlies this week.
Few players have garnered as much attention from a young age as the power forward, born on July 6, 2000 in Salisbury, North Carolina. That a high school kid could dunk 10 and score 50 points in a single game put him in the spotlight. Universities raffled it off and he ended up getting a scholarship to Duke, a historic college basketball player under the command of Mike Krzyzewski.
He chose the number 1 jersey, which he keeps, and became the star of the team. Then-President of the United States Barack Obama was at Duke’s Arena on the front row to enjoy the spectacle of the Duke-North Carolina derby on February 20, 2019, 36 seconds after the ball was thrown in the air , Zion’s shoe split, and he slipped and sprained his knee. The manufacturer Nike lost more than 1 billion in value on the stock exchange the next day.
The player, 1.98 meters and 129 kilos, recovered from the injury in time to meet all the predictions that made him the No. 1 draft pick in 2019 preseason. He signed multi-million dollar contracts. He has been compared to Charles Barkley, Larry Johnson and LeBron James and it was suggested that he would mark an era. However, in one of the preparatory games he suffered a torn meniscus and underwent surgery on the eve of his official debut in the NBA.
He missed the first 44 games. He had to wait until January 22 but entered the pro league through the front door, with a tally of 22 points in 18 minutes (17 in the last quarter), including four threes from four tries. Again the beginning of an era was proclaimed. He started being compared to Michael Jordan. If anything, Zion was late to get the team into the playoffs.
In his sophomore season, he continued to break some personal records averaging 27 points per game and was selected to the All-Star Game, but (again missing in 11 games) failed to lead the Pelicans to the playoffs. However, the worst for Zion was yet to come. Ahead of the summer league, he had to undergo surgery for a broken foot and ended up spending the season empty handed.
a brilliant streak
It was a new disappointment for Pelicans fans. When they’ve already lost faith, the New Orleans star seems ready for revenge. His best streak came in the middle of an injury to Brandon Ingram, another All-Star and the team’s second-highest scorer. Zion put the team on their backs like they did in high school and went on a streak of seven straight wins until the Utah Jazz crossed his path this week and defeated them twice, first on Tuesday and then this Thursday in overtime after one Exhibition from his point guard Jordan Clarkson. The Pelicans’ loss leaves their balance at 18 wins and 10 losses and has allowed the Memphis Grizzlies (18-10), who beat the Milwaukee Bucks this Thursday, to be first in the West.
Zion is on form despite the specter of injury hanging over him. He is one on one unstoppable through sheer power. His ERA before the basket is one of the highest in the league. He puts on a show with his dunks and alley-oops. Thanks to his jump, he bounces and blocks like no other. He’s also learned to help his teammates when the defense closes. To be a more complete player, he needs to improve his outside shot (he rarely shoots from three) and use a little more on defense.
The Pelicans have evolved their game a bit, allowing it to pass through Zion’s hands a little less, but at more crucial moments. In many minutes, when Jonas Valanciunas, the team’s starting seed, takes his seat, Zion plays as the only inside man, despite not reaching two meters in height, which he makes up for with his leap. That came at the expense of Willy Hernangómez who, despite his good form, has few chances and the minutes he plays shows that he deserves more time on the pitch.
Along with Zion, Ingran and Valanciunas, the starting XI is completed by point guard CJ McCollum, who is more inspired this year, and forward Herbert Jones, who has also had several games injured. Trey Murphy III, Jose Alvarado and Naji Marshall have also frequently joined the rotation. However, the team is yet to break through and Zion will need to mix well with Ingram to compete against the best and win the playoffs.
Halfway through the regular season, the Western Conference is in a bit of a revolution not only because of the good performance of the Pelicans, but also because of the problems of the current champions, the Golden State Warriors. They are 10th of the 15 teams in the west (with 14 wins and 15 losses) and have just lost a couple of weeks due to an injury to their big star Stephen Curry, who retired with a dislocated left shoulder in Wednesday’s loss to Indiana and pacemaker. The alarm has started to ring in San Francisco. Without Curry, the Warriors lose their game master and their deadliest weapon. In their last game against the Pelicans, they lost by 45 points without Curry.
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