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While shedding heavy tears and praising his mother during a nationally-televised interview after realizing his destiny as the No. 1 pick in the NBA Draft, Zion Williamson endeared himself to basketball followers across the globe. Considering his step father's heartfelt words to the city of New Orleans one day later, it's clear Williamson's moving post-draft interview stems from a strong family upbringing that placed value in people making their feelings known.
At the conclusion of his step son's introductory press conference with the New Orleans Pelicans on Friday, Lee Anderson got up on stage to recall a conversation he shared with Williamson – before the draft lottery, believe it or not – about the benefits of potentially playing in the Big Easy.
Emotional message from @Zionwilliamson’s stepfather, Lee Anderson, to close out the press conference #Pelicans pic.twitter.com/a173TA4mt9
— New Orleans Pelicans (@PelicansNBA) June 21, 2019
Awesome.
The consensus National Player of the Year as a freshman, Williamson averaged 22.6 points, 8.9 rebounds, 2.1 assists, 2.1 steals, and 1.8 blocks per game last season. At 6-foot-7 and a chiseled 285 pounds, his combination of sheer size and overall athleticism is perhaps unlike any the sports world has ever seen before. But Williamson is much more than a generational physical force, too, combining his singular tools with advanced basketball IQ and an unrelenting motor to make him a potentially transcendent player at the next level.
New Orleans is in the midst of an exciting rebuilding process less than five months after the team seemed doomed following Anthony Davis' trade request. After finally shipping the six-time All-Star to the Los Angeles Lakers last week, the Pelicans boast a promising core of Zion Williamson, Jrue Holiday, Brandon Ingram, Lonzo Ball, and Josh Hart to go along with rookie first-rounders Jaxson Hayes and Nickeil Alexander-Walker, not to mention two extra first-round picks in the coming years.
