Zion Williamson played his first regular-season game playing for the New Orleans Pelicans a few weeks ago after having torn his meniscus in the preseason. For the first half of his first game, he seemed to be quite nervous. He passed out traps and deferred to his teammates. He didn’t use his 6’6”, 284-pound frame to take out smaller defenders or to dunk on anyone. Instead, he blended in with the rest of his team.
Neither the fans nor his coach or teammates could blame Williamson for being so tentative while playing against the San Antonio Spurs. He was out of the game for about three months following knee surgery, and he only recently began practicing again. He is now making his highly-anticipated NBA debut as one of the latest stars on the league’s stage.
Showing What He’s Made Of
But during the fourth quarter, Zion Williamson came in strong and showed why he was the first-round pick in the draft. He pulled up to the 3-point line with successful shots, went in strong to the basket to get the put-back layout, and he went to the free-throw line while fans chanted “M.V.P.” from the stands. For seven straight possessions, Zion was able to score. He managed to make 17 points in just 3 minutes and 8 seconds.
Reaching and Exceeding Expectations
There have been unreasonable expectations for Williamson since he was in high school, and he always managed to meet them and, in some cases, exceed them. During 4 of the preseason games playing for New Orleans, Zion averaged 23.3 points with 6.5 rebounds and shot 71.4 percent from the field.
In October, Zion Williamson had surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his right knee. This put him on the sideline for the first half of the season and brought up the question regarding his long-term durability.
Despite his fire performance in the 4th quarter, Zion Williamson had to watch the San Antonio Spurs win in a 121-117 victory as he sat on the bench due to his playing restrictions while he entirely makes his recovery.