The wait is over. Zion Williamson will be making his NBA debut on Wednesday, January 22nd. Zion was the most highly regarded prospect since LeBron James out of high school, and then he killed it during his lone season at Duke. He was drafted with the 1st overall pick in the 2019 NBA Draft by the New Orleans Pelicans. The Pels will be taking on the Spurs on ESPN, at 9:30 EST on Wednesday. People expect Zion to fortify himself as a legend throughout his career, but that might not necessarily be the case. Due to recent health issues, NBA fans are becoming more unsure of what to expect from Williamson.
Zion sprained his left knee early on in a contest against North Carolina last season. His force caused his shoe to split open and his foot flew out. It was a very freakish and unusual injury seeing the shoe split apart. Zion would come back to play in the ACC Tournament and in March Madness. The outstanding prospect was still drafted number 1, and then the injury bug flew by Williamson again. Playing in the summer league, Zion tore his right meniscus. He has been recovering from that ever since his surgery in October. Many people believe that he can still be a huge impact player right away, but with two banged up knees on a guy known for athleticism, it might be more difficult.
The NBA hasn’t quite seen a Zion like body. 6 foot 6 and 285 pounds is very disproportionate to the NBA norm. The closest thing to it is probably Lebron (6’9” – 250lb), but even LeBron is on a similar build path to everyone else. The amount of weight he puts on a smaller stature could have been a reason for the injuries, and they could lead to more health issues in the future.
Zion still has the potential to be a superstar, and he might propel to the top tier of NBA players very quickly. There are still a lot of questions about him that are unanswered. There’s a health factor, but also he just dominated physically in college. Will his skillset translate to NBA stardom? Only time can answer these questions, but regardless, watching Zion Williamson debut in the NBA has everyone on the edge of their seats.