The New Orleans Pelicans are expected to take Duke standout Zion Williamson with the No. 1 pick in this year's NBA Draft. Being selected first overall comes with quite a bit of pressure, but Williamson says he's ready to be the face of the franchise.

“Honestly, yes. I do think I’m ready,” Williamson told Pelicans beat writer Andrew Lopez when asked if he's ready to be the face of the franchise. “You have to think that way. If not, you might be playing the wrong sport.”

Williamson, now 18 years of age, is projected to be a franchise-changing type of player — for good reason. At 6-7 and 285 pounds, he has great size and athleticism, but he's also highly efficient. In fact, his 40.8 PER was the highest mark for any qualifying player since the NCAA began measuring the stat in 2009.

In his 33 appearances with the Blue Devils last season (all starts), Williamson racked up averages of 22.6 points on 68.0 percent shooting from the field (33.8 percent from beyond the arc), 8.9 rebounds, 2.1 assists, 2.1 steals and 1.8 blocks in 30.0 minutes per outing.

It's difficult to draw comparisons to Williamson, as the league hasn't seen a player of his caliber for quite a while. Some analysts have likened his game to that of Draymond Green, or even LeBron James.

“I never saw myself being a top-3 pick,” Williamson said in a recent interview with ABC. “For people to think that I can go No. 1 means a lot to me. It shows that my hard work is paying off, but I just want to get drafted — period.

“I'm not looking to fill those shoes, though,” Williamson added, referring to former top-named draft picks. “I'm looking to just be the best Zion I can be.”

The 2019 NBA Draft will be held inside the Barclays Center in New York on Thursday, June 19th. ESPN will have live broadcast coverage of the event.