Pelica Debrief
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New Orleans Pelicans: How important is 2019-2020 for Pels’ five former Duke Blue Devils ?

By Willie Lutz

WASHINGTON, DC - MARCH 29: Zion Williamson #1 and Tre Jones #3 of the Duke Blue Devils celebrate following their game against the Virginia Tech Hokies during the 2019 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament East Regional Semifinals at Capital One Arena on March 29, 2019 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Lance King/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC - MARCH 29: Zion Williamson #1 and Tre Jones #3 of the Duke Blue Devils celebrate following their game against the Virginia Tech Hokies during the 2019 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament East Regional Semifinals at Capital One Arena on March 29, 2019 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Lance King/Getty Images) /
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MADISON, NEW JERSEY – AUGUST 11: Zion Williamson of the New Orleans Pelicans poses for a portrait during the 2019 NBA Rookie Photo Shoot on August 11, 2019 at the Ferguson Recreation Center in Madison, New Jersey. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
MADISON, NEW JERSEY – AUGUST 11: Zion Williamson of the New Orleans Pelicans poses for a portrait during the 2019 NBA Rookie Photo Shoot on August 11, 2019 at the Ferguson Recreation Center in Madison, New Jersey. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images) /

3. Zion Williamson – Class of 2019

There’s certainly a layer of pressure on every number one pick. Players like Williamson only arrive about once a decade, so the anticipation will naturally create some amount of stress to play solid hoop out of the gate.

He turned 19-years-old on July 6th, which means he still wasn’t born when a high school JJ Redick was reviewing the offer letters that would eventually make him a Duke Blue Devil. While Redick played a full four years of college ball, Zion left for an amazing NBA opportunity after just one season in blue.

The highly-touted rookie just has to be good this season; not great, not excellent, just good. Surely, fans will want to see highlight-reel dunks and blocks, which is a favor Williamson is fully capable of delivering. Fans will hope for Rookie of the Year nods, but it really comes down to the development of this exciting prospect.

What will be important for the rookie is to make sure he can keep up with the physicality of the NBA. He’s incredibly strong and destroyed many college basketball defenders last season, but now he’ll be competing against the LeBron James and Kawhi Leonard-types of the world.

If Zion shows that he can hang against other starters in this league, Pelicans fans should have a lot to be excited about for the next handful of years.

Zion doesn’t need to set the world on fire right out of the gate; no one should expect him to be LeBron, Michael Jordan, or Charles Barkley during his rookie season. Instead, they should just keep their eyes on the development of a player who could revolutionize what basketball means to New Orleans.

The pressure isn’t super high for Zion this season. For far too long, New Orleans has been in the bottom tier of NBA teams; a move towards the middle will be a big stride for a franchise that’s never been graced with a Larry O’Brien trophy, let alone an appearance in an NBA Finals. While Duke has five National Championships to their name; any team should strive for that kind of standing.

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