If you had the NBA's resident pirate admitting that New Orleans Pelicans sensation Zion Williamson is stronger than him, you win today.

Over his eight seasons in the NBA, New Orleans Pelicans center Steven Adams has established a reputation as one of the league’s strongest and toughest players. Adams has battled with some of the league’s best big men in the paint and set bone-crushing screens for his teammates.

But the 27-year old admits that the one player who may be stronger than him is his Pelicans teammate Zion Williamson. In an interview with ESPN’s Andrew Lopez about the Pelicans’ bruising frontcourt of Adams and Williamson, the big man from New Zealand said that the first overall pick of the 2019 NBA Draft is the stronger and more impressive player between them.

Adams, who spent his first seven seasons in the NBA with the Oklahoma City Thunder before being traded to the Pelicans in the offseason, also marvelled at the former Duke Blue Devil’s explosiveness on the court despite his size.

“The dude's explosive as hell,” Adams said of his Pelicans teammate, per ESPN. “He's like 300 pounds or something, too. But he moves so quick.”

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With their physically imposing duo of Adams and Zion Williamson, New Orleans has gotten off to an 11-12 start so far this season, ranking 10th in the Western Conference and just two games out of the eighth spot. In 22 games, Adams has put up averages of 8.5 points, 9.4 rebounds, 2.4 assists, and one steal while shooting 59.1% from the field for his new team.

Zion Williamson, meanwhile, is averaging 23.5 points, 7.1 rebounds, 2.9 assists, and a steal while shooting 59.6% from the field and 36.4% from beyond the arc. They’ve played only a few games together so far, but Adams already knows that his young teammate is the stronger player, which is high praise coming from someone also known for his toughness on the court.