LAS VEGAS — The weekend was already expected to be eventful with Zion Williamson in town. The No. 1 overall draft pick took to the floor as a pro for the first time Friday night as a member of the Pelicans, playing against former Duke teammate and Knicks No. 3 overall pick RJ Barrett on Day 1 of the MGM Resorts NBA Summer League at the Thomas & Mack Center on the campus of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.
NBA players and celebrities — including LeBron James, his soon-to-be teammate Anthony Davis, Lonzo Ball, Donovan Mitchell, Floyd Mayweather Jr. and a bevy of others — all came to see what the hype was about.
What they saw was real . . . for all of nine minutes of action.
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And then an earthquake stole the show — and we're not talking about one of Williamson’s monstrous dunks, or news later in the night that Kawhi Leonard and Paul George will be joining the Clippers (although the report did shake up the world), or that Vegas oddsmakers subsequently elevated LA to favorites to win the NBA championship next year.
We're talking an actual earthquake. Mother Nature refused to be upstaged.
The quake, with a magnitude between 6.9 and 7.1, rocked Southern California at 8:19 p.m. PT and was felt all the way in Las Vegas. It left the scoreboard high above the Thomas & Mack court swaying.
"The big one is coming," a media member said as everyone inside the arena slowly realized that it was an earthquake and not one of Williamson’s jams that left the backboards shaking. With fans darting for the exits, officials elected to stop the game and evaluate whether it would be safe to continue playing. After a roughly 15-minute delay, it was determined that the game would not resume and that the next scheduled game, between the Suns and Nuggets, would also be canceled.
The NBA wasn’t the only sport affected. The quake also interrupted retired UFC fighter Rashad Evans’ Hall of Fame speech just a few blocks away at The Palms Casino Resort. It halted play at the World Series of Poker Main Event at the nearby Rio All Suites Hotel and Casino, too.
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Williamson’s first run with his new team ending up being a small sample size after a knee-to-knee collision put him on the shelf, but, oh, those nine minutes put the entire league on notice.
In that brief time, Williamson scored 11 points on 4-of-9 shooting, all dunks. During one 33-second sequence, he scored on a pair of dunks in the paint and sent a Kadeem Allen layup attempt flying into the bleachers — he was called for goaltending, but it was still a sight to see.
Shortly after, Williamson violently ripped the ball away after Kevin Knox grabbed a rebound, turned and crammed another dunk that sent the sold-out arena into a frenzy. The big attraction flexed his left biceps as he walked up the court.
“Oh, my God, he is for real," another media member said after watching Williamson toss the 6-9, 215-pound Knox to the floor as if he were a small child. "He has man strength."
Another former Blue Devil wound up stealing the show, however, as the Pelicans came back from a 20-point deficit to lead 80-74 when play was stopped with 7:53 remaining in the fourth quarter. And it’s not the player you are thinking.
Frank Jackson — the No. 31 pick in the 2017 draft — scored 30 points in 23 minutes. He made clutch shots, penetrated at will and threw down his own thunderous two-handed dunk that had the crowd in awe.
Barrett, meanwhile, struggled from the field in his NBA debut — 4-for-18 shooting and 10 points.
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For the first time in the 15-year history of the NBA Summer League making a stop in Vegas, the 17,500-seat Thomas & Mack Center was sold out on opening day. Scalpers were peddling tickets in 100-degree heat for $80 a pop. Lower-bowl seats were resold for more than $500 as fans sought the hottest ticket in town. A record 1,000 media credentials were granted.
All of this was happening the day before UFC 239, a card that includes two of the best fighters in the world — light heavyweight champion Jon Jones and two-division titlist Amanda Nunes — competing during the UFC’s annual International Fight Week.
Earlier in the day, fans swarmed the Thomas & Mack as early as 3 p.m. PT, about 3 1/2 hours before game time, to ensure themselves at least a glimpse of Zion. Knicks fans in attendance championed their guy with Barrett jerseys and signs. And then there were the Lakers fans — who would have their hearts broken just a few hours later — with their signs begging Leonard to team up with LeBron and Davis as a member of the purple and gold. One fan wore a Lonzo Ball jersey but taped over Ball’s name and wrote "LEONARD" in black marker.
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The atmosphere was absolutely electric and rivaled some playoff environments. It wouldn't be a step too far to suggest it may likely overshadow the UFC's pay-per-view event Saturday night up the street at T-Mobile Arena.
There was palpable energy when Williamson went through his warmups. The room swelled with anticipation every time the rookie, who is celebrating his 19th birthday Saturday, touched a basketball. After he was jeered for making a couple of layups, Williamson threw the fans a bone with a monster one-handed dunk off the glass. He drew a rousing ovation.
After he didn’t return to the floor for the second quarter, a "We want Zion!" chant echoed off the arena walls. Unfortunately, his night ended earlier than expected. Little did the fans know that an evening of Summer League hoops would be disrupted by a sudden release of energy in Earth's lithosphere that created seismic waves.
On this night, Mother Nature wanted to be the only one who would shake up the world . . . literally.
