Zion Williamson is a 2019-2020 19-year-old NBA rookie that plays on the New Orleans Pelicans. Williamson was the number one overall pick and is predicted to be the NBA’s next LeBron James. 

The power forward was so talented that his college team, Duke Blue Devils, gave him the nickname Zanos, like the Marvel villain Thanos. According to the team, Williamson also was an extremely cordial player who took the time to sign autographs for fans, and always packed the gym.  

The new legend isn’t playing at the moment because of a knee injury, but there are also many other theories. For example, some say he is overweight because he is only 19 years old and weighs 285 pounds, but that isn’t affecting him much since he is still able to have a vertical jump height of 40 inches. 

Although there are many positive attributes about Zanos, there are aspects that people do not like about him. According to Mark Medina, “Zion is the most overrated rookie ever to join the NBA, but could be one of the best.” Even Glen “Big Baby” Davis says that Zion’s weight could affect his whole NBA career. During his career, Big Baby only weighed five more pounds than Zanos and he was in the NBA for nine seasons.

Although Williamson was a skilled player in high school and college, the NBA is a whole different story. Now he will play with grown men when for years prior he was playing against younger athletes. This year, Williamson is expected to do a majority of the work for the Pelicans, however, basketball is a team sport and it always will be. Ethan Carey says, “If he was that good he would have given Duke a championship, and Duke was a power team.¨ There are players who have scored one hundred points in a game, but their teams don’t always win. According to Carey, “Zion is a good player, but he will need help from his teammates, even if they are not as skilled as him.” 

Additionally, in 2K20, an NBA video game that has player stats and ratings, Williamson is a better dunker than Zach Lavine, a two-time dunk contest winner. Lavine was considered to be a better dunker than Michael Jordan, the athlete who made dunking popular and made his dunks unguardable. 

With all of the hype around Williamson, he hasn’t even played one game this season and some media outlets think he is completely overrated. All in all, Zion is an inspirational player with great talent and a passion for the game of basketball. Williamson maintains an unmatched mix of strength, stamina, quickness, and explosion that could lead to a championship for the Pelicans this year.