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New Orleans Pelicans rookie Zion Williamson faced off against Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James twice in February. The Lakers won both games, with Williamson and James starring in both contests.
Williamson already has a sense of how James thinks and plays the game, via Eric Woodyard of ESPN:
On Tuesday, Williamson was named Western Conference Rookie of the Month for February after averaging 25.7 points, 6.2 rebounds and 2.6 assists in 9 games. The 19-year-old faced LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers twice in the month, and despite losing both times, he described James as “thinking plays ahead while everybody else was probably thinking about the play going on.”
“He really got his teammates involved, he got to his spots and he showed why he is who he is,” Williamson said of James.
There is no doubt Zion is the most hyped player in the NBA since LeBron came into the league back in 2003. So far, the Pelicans youngster has shown the potential to dominate the league for the next decade or so, especially if he stays healthy.
It would be so fun to see the Pelicans and Lakers face off in the first round of the playoffs. All signs point toward the Lakers getting the No. 1 seed in the West, while the Pelicans are 3.5 games back of the Memphis Grizzlies for the eighth spot.
Williamson is averaging 24.1 points, 6.8 rebounds and 2.1 assists overall on the season for the Pelicans while shooting 59.3 percent from the floor, 41.7 percent from the 3-point line and 64.8 percent from the charity stripe.
Williamson’s powerful dunks are already breaking backboards and he is flying through the air just like Michael Jordan did with the Chicago Bulls. The fact that Williamson is signed with Jordan Brand and wearing Jordan’s while dunking just feels right.