Pelica Debrief
Fansided

New Orleans Pelicans: What accolades will Zion achieve during his rookie year?

By Willie Lutz

ATLANTA, GA - OCTOBER 7: Zion Williamson #1 of the New Orleans Pelicans talks with media after the pre-season game against the Atlanta Hawks on October 7, 2019 at State Farm Arena in Atlanta, Georgia. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2019 NBAE (Photo by Layne Murdoch Jr./NBAE via Getty Images)
ATLANTA, GA - OCTOBER 7: Zion Williamson #1 of the New Orleans Pelicans talks with media after the pre-season game against the Atlanta Hawks on October 7, 2019 at State Farm Arena in Atlanta, Georgia. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2019 NBAE (Photo by Layne Murdoch Jr./NBAE via Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
4 of 4
Next
ATLANTA, GA – OCTOBER 7: Zion Williamson #1 of the New Orleans Pelicans looks on against the Atlanta Hawks during a pre-season game on October 7, 2019 at State Farm Arena in Atlanta, Georgia. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2019 NBAE (Photo by Scott Cunningham/NBAE via Getty Images)
ATLANTA, GA – OCTOBER 7: Zion Williamson #1 of the New Orleans Pelicans looks on against the Atlanta Hawks during a pre-season game on October 7, 2019 at State Farm Arena in Atlanta, Georgia. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2019 NBAE (Photo by Scott Cunningham/NBAE via Getty Images) /

Zion Williamson, All-NBA Third Team

If he ends up being named one of the fifteen best players in the league after one season, Zion Williamson could really start turning his young career into something for the storybooks in a hurry.

This means he’s one of the top-15 players in the league entering the first year of his NBA career, a notion that could prove to be completely valid over the next few months.

Very few players in the history of this game have made an All-NBA team during their first season. The list includes names like Larry Bird, Rick Barry, and Oscar Robertson, with most coming before the 1970s.

The last player to do it was Tim Duncan in 1998. He went on to win three MVP awards, six NBA Championships, three Finals MVP awards, made 15 All-Star Games, made ten appearances on the All-NBA First Team, won an NBA title in his second year with the San Antonio Spurs, and is in the Hall of Fame.

Granted, Wilt Chamberlain and Wes Unseld both won Rookie of the Year and MVP in the same season. Both were also included on the All-NBA First Team list.

It would be quite the historical mark for Zion, the player who’s been pegged as the game’s next-big-thing.

Really, it’s hard to imagine who’s going to find a way to stop Williamson, even this early in his NBA career. His athletic tools are just through the roof.

While there’s too much talent at the top of the league for me to think of Zion as a first or second-teamer, and just a little too much for me to circle him as a darkhorse MVP candidate, he’s showing signs of someone who’s here to make a HUGE splash in his first year of NBA basketball.

Next. The Pelicans hype is legit this season, here's why.... dark

In a league where huge “unicorns” who can shoot it from all over the place are the dominant trend, Zion is a refreshing, rim-dominant player who seems apt to destroy offenses across the league. His style is something rare for this generation, granted his style involves using his attributes as a genetic freak (Jrue said it, not me).

Home/Pelicans News