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Zion Williamson kicked off his NBA career on Monday night with an exciting performance against the Atlanta Hawks, resulting in a 133-109 victory for the Pelicans.
The hype surrounding Zion's name has been growing for months, and it was finally time for fans around the globe to see what he brings to the table in an actual game setting — albeit a preseason one.
It wasn't long before Williamson made his mark. In fact, the former Duke standout scored New Orleans' first two points of the game — a layup through contact. Just a few minutes later, he threw down one of his signature one-handed jams — also through contact.
Still in the first quarter, Zion received a pass from Lonzo Ball in transition, then proceeded to slam home a thunderous two-handed dunk. He didn't stop there, though.
With just over six minutes remaining in the second quarter, Williamson rose up to send home another jam — this one of the one-handed variety.
Zion's power was on full display, as he finished Monday's game with three dunks and several easy shots at the rim. However, he also found a few of his teammates for open looks, proving that he has excellent court vision as well.
In his 28 minutes of playing time, Williamson racked up 16 points on 6-of-13 shooting from the field (0-2 from beyond the arc), seven rebounds, three assists and three steals. He went 4-of-7 from the free-throw line.
Here are the highlights from Zion's NBA debut:
“It was a lot of fun,” Williamson said during his post-game media availability. “It's the first win of hopefully many, and I'm glad to get that one under my belt.”
Williamson is known for his powerful dunks, but he showed that he is more than just that in Monday's preseason victory:
“You were known as a dunking machine in college,” a reporter said to Zion after Monday's game. “Were you glad to show off some other things in this game?”
“Yeah, for sure. I don't feel like just dunking would've got me (to the NBA),” Williamson replied. “I had to be somewhat of a good basketball player to get here. So whenever I have a chance to showcase my other abilities, I try to do so.”
Though it was only one preseason game, it's certainly nice to see Zion living up to such lofty expectations. If he can maintain this level of play, the Pelicans will likely be one of the more formidable sides in the Western Conference this season. Whether or not he can lead the team to a playoff seed remains to be seen.
