The 3 best dunks from Zion Williamson before his NBA debut
By Willie Lutz
Zion Williamson is set to return for his first night of NBA action tomorrow at the Smoothie King Center, we review some of the dunks that had fans buzzing.
Tomorrow night, the New Orleans Pelicans and their home faithful will finally get the chance to witness the NBA debut of highly anticipated rookie Zion Williamson.
Though Zion has been held back following a preseason meniscus tear, the rookie is set to throw down dunks tomorrow against the last team he faced in the preseason, the San Antonio Spurs.
In that preseason victory, Zion posted 22 points, 10 rebounds, 2 steals and shot 8-of-11 from the floor.
According to the team’s Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations, David Griffin went pretty well with Zion’s rehab process and the team is excited about his health in the long run.
"“This process has been one that’s been really really good. We’ve learned a lot more than we’ve probably taught him, frankly, but we’re getting to the point where we actually think he’s as ready as [Zion Williamson] feels he is. So everything’s moving in the right direction,” David Griffin said to reporters last Wednesday."
Now, we’re under half a day away from watching Zion Williamson throw down dunks at the NBA level after his teammates helped position the squad in a way that’ll give the rookie a comfortable landing in the league.
For the sake of this article, we’ll only be looking at dunks Zion has performed in a New Orleans Pelicans uniform. Certainly, there are plenty of dunks from Williamson’s days at Duke University and playing in his native Spartanburg, South Carolina.
Just for fun, here’s Zion Williamson’s iconic block as a Duke Blue Devil to help his team seal a win over Virginia Tech, just one of the early moments that were simply daunting.
Highlight plays aren’t the only thing in Williamson’s bag, however, he’s a highly-efficient basketball player with an incredible feel for the floor. During his time in college, plays like the one above defined his sheer force on the defensive end of the floor.
With Zion’s continued athletic refinement, he’s only going to get better as an athlete and dunker as he continues to develop at an NBA level.
Fortunately, we won’t have to wait too much longer to see what Zion Williamson does on the NBA stage, as we’re counting down the hours until he takes the floor against the Spurs.
Until then, we’re just incredibly glad he’s delivered some nice dunks as a representative of the New Orleans Pelicans in limited opportunities.