It’s not a secret to anybody that Zion Williamson is a unique talent. He’s got a rare combination of power, strength, athleticism, and skill, and while he’s been dealing with injuries to start his career; the sky seems to be the limit for him.
Zion has been dominating opposing defenders for years now. Some thought that he’d struggle to do at in the NBA but he’s proven them wrong every single night out there.
In fact, even his teammate JJ Redick has been in awe about how dominant he is and the way he constantly gets to his spot despite defenders trying to keep him away from the rim and his left hand:
“I think what’s remarkable to me is like you watch him play and he shoots 15 layups to his left hand ever game. I think every NBA player would be like ‘I wish I want to get 15 layups to my strong dominant hand, every game’. That’s a high percentage shot. No one else can do it,” Redick said when talking to Tommy Alter on ‘The Old Man and the Three’.
“When he’s inside 15 feet or 17 feet, his ability to get from point A to point B with that amount of force and quickness at his size and with his strength,” he added. “There’s just not a lot of people in the world who can do that. That’s the more impressive thing.”
The scariest part about Zion Williamson is the fact that he’s just getting started. He’s getting better as we speak and will only continue to develop as the years go by. We hold him to a high standard because he’s a former first-overall pick, but he’s still just a kid.
Redick went on to say that he’s excited to see how his career unfolds and he’s eager to watch him continue his development, warning the rest of the league about his true potential:
“I think the exciting part is, you see him continue to develop his handle, his passing, and all the different skill required. He’s going to be even better. His ceiling is very high. His baseline is already 25 points per game night score at a very efficient level and that’s just a 20-year-old,” Redick concluded.
Thus far in his first full season in the NBA, the Duke product is averaging 23.4 points, 7.9 rebounds, 1.9 assists, and 1.0 steals per game on 57.8% shooting and 33.1 minutes per game. He’s still a work in progress and his shot and man-to-man defense need some work to do but there’s no doubt that he’s got the potential to be a generational talent.
