Zion Williamson is already learning what it's like to be part of the NBA media machine.
The Duke star's old comments from a Home Team Hoops documentary resurfaced after New Orleans won the 2019 NBA Draft lottery — and caused quite a stir. Multiple outlets reported Williamson, who was 16 years old at the time, saying that Pelicans forward Anthony Davis and Wizards guard John Wall turned him down when he asked for autographs. Not a great look for either guy.
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Here's the problem: That's not what Williamson said.
He explained that he always wanted to meet players like Davis and Wall, and it would have hurt his feelings if they had decided not to sign autographs for fans. (The key word there is "if.")
Some context on Zion Williamson/Anthony Davis/John Wall autograph story being rehashed: Williamson has never met Davis or Wall, per source close to him. Neither snubbed him. Williamson was providing analogy using athletes he looked up to in high school, on why he signs for kids.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) May 21, 2019
I checked the video And it seems Zion was misquoted by they NY Post, he not only says he’s never met AD and John Wall but he also says he always signs autographs for kids because he would have been hurt “IF” AD and John Wall wouldn’t have signed their autograph for him https://t.co/E8LaDBeQRJ pic.twitter.com/AWRmdvR0XW
— gifdsports (@gifdsports) May 21, 2019
"Jaylen Brown, Stanley Johnson, John Wall, Anthony Davis. I would always dream of meeting them or getting to go see them play in high school, but I never had the chance," Williamson said. "But I always told myself, 'I work hard enough, maybe I can get in that type of spotlight.' ...
"I try to sign every kid's autograph because I don't want to turn a little kid down because I know it will hurt him. Because it would hurt me if someone like Anthony Davis, John Wall turned me down. So I try to sign everybody's."
Sure, Zion vs. AD is a lot more interesting as a headline, but the actual quote is harmless. Williamson comes off as a humble, hard-working kid in the documentary, so calling out NBA All-Stars would be more than a little out of character for him.
You can watch the full Home Team Hoops video below. Williamson's comments about signing autographs come around the 4:45 mark.
