It didn’t take long before people realized that Zion Williamson was a force of nature.
His highlight clips from high school were viral for years and he kept that dominance on throughout his brief career with the Duke Blue Devils.
Then, when he finally made it to the NBA, he silenced his doubters by completely bullying opposing defenses in the hardest competition in professional basketball.
Even so, Zion is far from a finished product. His defense needs some work and so does his offensive game. That’s why he vowed to become a more complete scorer next season, stating that he’ll take more jumpers and even shoot some floaters:
“People are going to see a lot of things,” Williamson told SiriusXM Radio, as quoted by The Bird Writes. “They’re going to see me make the game easier for myself. As simple as that sounds, making the game easier on myself, it’s just going to open a lot for my game. The coaches trust me to play point forward. It’s going to open up a lot spacing. I’ve got a lot of shooters this year.
“I guess the best thing I can say is, a lot of floaters, a lot of midrange shots. I worked on that a lot this (summer) because I’m a rhythm player. If I have the ball, like I’ll just create a rhythm, so the midrange shot for me feels really good. So, it’s going to be a lot of that.”
If Zion starts knocking down shots consistently, then it’s over. We’re talking about a guy who shoots 60.4% from the floor and averages 25.7 points per game over his young career.
If he adds more range to his offensive repertoire, he’ll be the most unstoppable offensive force in the league, and just exactly what the Pelicans need to make the playoffs.
Zion, a born winner, was pretty disgusted by not reaching the postseason thus far. Now, he’s eager to put an end to that drought:
“It was a sickening feeling,” Zion added. “We weren’t in the playoffs — and I’m watching the playoffs — I’m like, man, we can be there. Like I know we can be there this year. Man, something just took over me and I was like, yeah, it’s not happening again. It’s not happening no more.
“When I started training, everything, from every rep, everything just felt personal. Everything was like, nah, nothing this year is going to stop us from getting into the playoffs. Like, we’re going to do this. I’m going to make sure I do my part and more, to make sure my teammates see me working.”
The Pelicans will have a tough time trying to keep up with the biggest forces in the NBA. But Zion looks like a generational talent, so we shouldn’t sleep on them altogether.
