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New Orleans Pelicans rookie Zion Williamson is off to a hot start in the preseason. His point guard, Lonzo Ball, says he's never seen anything like what Williamson is doing efficiency wise.
It’s just preseason, but Williamson has 55 points on 21-of-25 shooting in the last two games. Ball says he tells Zion all the time that “he's amazing.”
Lonzo Ball on whether he’s ever seen anything similar to Zion Williamson’s incredible efficiency & impact for a rookie these last 2 preseason games: “I haven’t seen it yet. I tell him all the time that he’s amazing. Just keep doing what he’s doing, the sky is the limit for him.”
— Oleh Kosel 🇺🇦 (@OlehKosel) October 12, 2019
No one in New Orleans is surprised by this. In his lone season at Duke, Williamson put on an absolute show. The high-flyer averaged 22.6 points, 8.9 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game while shooting 68.0 percent from the field, 33.8 percent from beyond the arc and 64.0 percent from the free-throw line.
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Is Williamson going to shoot this well during the regular season? No. However, the Pelicans star is showing everyone that his strength and athleticism are going to be a problem for opposing teams all season.
There hasn’t been this much hype surrounding a young player in the NBA since LeBron James came into the league back in 2003. Williamson, like James, was the No. 1 overall pick in his draft class. The Pelicans are hoping Williamson can carve out a career similar to the one James has had. LeBron has won three titles, three Finals MVPs and four regular season MVP awards.
During his rookie season with the Cleveland Cavaliers, James averaged 20.9 points, 5.5 rebounds and 5.9 assists. The King recorded 12 double-doubles, too.
It’s unfair for us to ask Williamson to put up those type of numbers with the Pelicans in 2019-20, but Zion will definitely be putting up some stellar numbers which will undoubtedly make him the favorite to win the 2020 Rookie of the Year award.
