Ever since he was a kid in high school, Zion Williamson was drawing a lot of attention because of his insane athleticism and strength. He was – literally – a grown man among kids just bullying his way to the basket with little-to-none opposition.
Things didn’t change that much during his lone season at Duke. He kept improving his craft but, once again, his strength, hops, and athleticism gave him a huge edge over most of his rivals, but some analysts questioned whether he was going to be able to dominate in the pros the same way vs. NBA big men.
Fast-forward to today and it’s pretty safe to say that yes, Zion is an impressive specimen that’s already making a fool out of NBA competition. But, even if his strength is shocking, his teammate Steven Adams claims that it’s not even the best part of his game:
“I know we talk about (his) strength a lot, but that’s the least interesting thing in his game, him being a strong dude. His touch is so good, his footwork is insane,” Adams said, as quoted by Jim Eichenhofer.
Steven Adams on Zion Williamson after the forward's 37-15-8 game vs. 76ers: "I know we talk about strength a lot, but that’s the least interesting thing in his game, him being a strong dude. His touch is so good, his footwork is insane."
— Jim Eichenhofer (@Jim_Eichenhofer) April 10, 2021
And, to be fair to Zion, Adams is right. Yes, he’s strong and athletic, but he’s made great strides to improve every single aspect of his game since he made it to the league last year. His defense is still a work in progress but opposing players are wary of finishing above the rim with him looming around.
Zion has improved his ball-handling and playmaking as well. He’s savvy, smart, and has shown impressive basketball IQ for a youngster.
Thus far, he’s averaging 26.5 points per game on nearly 62% from the floor, and he’s yet to play a full season. Let that sink in. Barring injury, we’re talking about a young man with the potential of becoming one of the most physically dominant – if not the most – players in NBA history.
