As New Orleans Pelicans rookie Zion Williamson prepares to start in his NBA debut against the San Antonio Spurs on Wednesday, head coach Alvin Gentry gave him a rather straightforward and legitimate advice.
“I told him just try to dunk everything,” Gentry said, per Marc J. Spears of ESPN.
Williamson is yet to take the floor this year as he recovered from a torn meniscus he sustained prior to the start of the regular season. The only in-game action that fans can look into in order to assess Williamson's potential impact is the four preseason games that he participated in.
In those four preseason games, he averaged 23.3 points across 27.3 minutes on a nightly basis.
He will be joined in the starting five by Lonzo Ball, Jrue Holiday, Brandon Ingram and Derrick Favors. The team's injury report left many of their starters' statuses up in the air prior to tip-off, but even with key role players like Kenrich Williams sidelined, the Pelicans group that will be available on Wednesday will be as close to their full allotment of talent as they have had all year.
Williamson's return has been so highly anticipated that ESPN even picked up coverage of the contest ahead of time. After starring during his lone season spent at Duke, the top pick of the 2019 NBA NBA Draft carries considerable hype around him — and his place in the starting five in his first game confirms how serious that the Pelicans believe in his abilities.
Just how many minutes he sees exactly is up in the air, but the Zion Williamson Era will officially begin with him likely trying to follow Alvin Gentry's lead and dunk at will.
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