After New Orleans Pelicans super rookie Zion Williamson bullied his way to the ring for a monster slam, LeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers answered back with a pull-up 3-pointer from 40 feet.

Williamson just muscled his way against Kyle Kuzma in the final minute of the second quarter. Once in front of the rim, the 19-year-old finished with brute strength. While the crowd was still in a frenzy for Williamson's slam, James casually walked past the mid-court and tossed up a 3-pointer to give the momentum back to the Lakers.

In their first meeting last week, James showered praise on Williamson, calling the rookie “special.”

“But in today's game, where it's a track race, it's fast paced, high tempo, it fits his game perfectly and the way that they play fits his game perfectly cause in the first eight seconds, they're trying to score and score and score. But the kid is special, and they've got a good one in him,” LeBron said of the Pelicans' rising star.

Indeed, Williamson is proving why there was so much hype surrounding him ahead of the 2019 NBA Draft. He deserves to be in the NBA, and he has the tools to be a great player. However, the Lakers star isn't passing the throne just yet — LeBron James is still here and well within his prime.

Related NewsArticle continues below
Khaman Maluach, Jeremiah Fears, Kon Knueppel in the middle - Head coach Willie Green, and GM Bryson Graham around them - New Orleans Pelicans wallpaper in the background
New Orleans Pelicans’ 3 best options for No. 7 pick in 2025 NBA Draft
New Orleans Pelicans guard Trey Murphy III (25) looks on against the Miami Heat during the second half at Smoothie King Center.
Pelicans’ Trey Murphy takes issue with draft lottery rewarding wrong teams

—

Follow ClutchPoints on Twitter & Instagram, and like us on Facebook. We can also be found on Flipboard where you can subscribe and follow us.

All of our NBA content can be found on the NBA section of the ClutchPoints home page here. For all of our college basketball content, click here.

Follow the Lakers and other NBA games live by downloading the ClutchPoints App and heading to the scores tab under the NBA section.

You can listen and subscribe to the Battle for LA podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and Soundcloud. You can also find new episodes of Battle for LA, the ClutchPoints NBA Podcast, and Establish the Pass under the Podcast tab on the ClutchPoints home page.