Zion Williamson was a walking highlight reel in his one and only season at Duke University.
The freshman phenom was a once-in-a-generation talent and was picked first overall pick in the 2019 NBA Draft.
So who is Zion Williamson?
Background
Zion Williamson was born on July 6, 2000 (19-years-old) and is from Salisbury, North Carolina.
College experience
Williamson played his college basketball at Duke University. He was a one-and-done, playing one season before declaring for the NBA Draft.
In his one season, Williamson stacked his trophy case with both the John R. Wooden and Dr. James Naismith Player of the Year awards, ACC Player of the Year, ACC Rookie of the Year, a Consensus All-American, All-ACC First Team, ACC All-Defence First Team, ACC All-Freshman First Team, ACC Tournament MVP, All-ACC Tournament Team and an NCAA Tournament All-Region selection.
He led the conference in a number of categories and established himself as the most dominant player in the country, averaging 22.6 points, 8.9 rebounds, 2.1 assists, 2.1 steals and 1.8 blocks per game shooting 68.0% from the field and 33.8% from beyond the arc.
NBA Career
Williamson was picked No. 1 overall in the 2019 NBA Draft by the New Orleans Pelicans.
A couple of weeks later, he played the lone Summer League game (11p/3r in 9 mins) against the New York Knicks before being shut down for the rest of the event after knocking knees with a Knicks player.
After a couple of months of rehab, Williamson returned to the team's line-up in the preseason and impressed everybody. He played in the team's first four preseason games, averaging 23.3 points, 6.5 rebounds, and 2.3 assists on 71.4% shooting from the field in 27.2 minutes.
At the time of writing (a few days before Christmas 2019), he is yet to make his NBA debut.
Skill set
Williamson is an explosive, one-of-a-kind athlete.
For someone 6'6, 280 pounds, he has tremendous speed and acceleration. He's a freight train in transition and is nearly impossible to stop when he gets going downhill toward the rim.
He handles the ball well, can score off the dribble and uses his freakish athleticism to finish through traffic, contact, or any sort of resistance going to the hoop. He can score out of the post and uses his elite leaping ability to crash the glass on both ends of the floor.
Zion's motor and competitiveness are unmatched and his work ethic is said to be relentless.
He possesses the size and quickness to be an elite defender, with his perimeter jump shot being his only glaring weakness at the moment.
