New Orleans Pelicans forward Zion Williamson has gotten more comfortable being a playmaker for his team compared to last year during his rookie season.
During an interview with Maria Taylor of ESPN, Williamson spoke out on his evolution as a point-forward, stating he was “always trained to be like a playmaker.”
“For the people that don't know my backstory, I was always trained to be like a playmaker,” the Pelicans rising star said. “So I'm just glad that my teammates and my coaches see how unselfish I am. I like getting my teammates involved and giving other people confidence.”
In 24 games this 2020-21 season, Williamson has been putting up 2.9 assists, slightly above his 2.1 dimes in 2019-20. For what it's worth, he has already registered five-plus assists in five contests this campaign, a far better improvement compared to last season when he only registered five-plus dimes in three games. Furthermore, according to Synergy, Williamson has almost tripled his number of isolation possessions for the Pelicans from 55 this year compared to just 24 last year.
That just goes to show that Steve Van Gundy is doing exactly what he said he would do with regarding to Zion. Last December, Van Gundy said he would not be limiting Williamson to a position, and instead, he was going to allow him to have more isolation plays to further unlock his playmaking skills with the Pelicans.
“He is an unbelievable playmaker… It’s not limiting him to a position.” @realStanVG on his vision for Zion’s fit and development. pic.twitter.com/LW55Q5M5Uu
— NBA TV (@NBATV) October 27, 2020
As for the Pelicans, they have compiled a 6-4 record in the past 10 games. They have an overall record of 11-14, which is good for the 12th seed in the Western Conference. After losing to the Dallas Mavericks on Friday, they'll be seeking to get back in the win column on Sunday as they play the Detroit Pistons.
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