New Orleans Pelicans: the league talks about Zion Williamson

Even before he made his debut with the New Orleans Pelicans, the world was talking about Zion Williamson. Here are some of the best quotes about the rookie phenom.

Zion Williamson was a household name long before he was drafted first overall by the New Orleans Pelicans.

His size, leaping ability and physical dominance were the stuff of legends, and there hasn’t been a rookie to enter the NBA with as much hype since LeBron James.

Zion Williamson has always taken it in stride, never letting the effusive praise go to his head.

In fact, according to USA Today, when Zion was asked how he felt about all of the NBA All-Stars talking about him when he was still in college, Zion said,

"Growing up, I loved what Kobe did and Dirk did,” Williamson said. “My intentions are to stay with the Pelicans my whole career.”"

Zion Williamson has always been humble, a trait he likely owes to his mother, who was his coach until he was a teenager.

Zion said in an interview just after being drafted number one by the New Orleans Pelicans:

"“I didn’t think I’d be in this position,” he said. “My mom sacrificed a lot for me. I wouldn’t be here without my mom, she did everything for me, I just want to thank her… She put her dreams aside for mine. She always looked out for the family first before herself.”"

It’s hard to watch this video without getting teary eyed, but also without gaining a lot of respect for young Zion Williamson:

It’s obvious the New Orleans Pelicans got something special when they drafted Zion Williamson.

The feeling has been mutual, as Zion said he would like to spend his entire career with the New Orleans Pelicans in an interview in Sports Illustrated:

"Growing up, I loved what Kobe did and Dirk did,” Williamson said. “My intentions are to stay with the Pelicans my whole career.”"

Zion has a chance to a be an icon in New Orleans, an ambassador for the city and the best NBA player of his generation.

Here’s what some of the rest of the league has to say about Zion Williamson.

What his organization and coach have to say…

Since Zion Williamson made his debut with the New Orleans Pelicans, few have been as generous with their praise as his own organization and coach.

Executive vice president of basketball operations David Griffin has been especially giddy when talking about young Zion Williamson’s singular talent.

Here’s what he had to say in an interview just after the draft, according to USA Today:

"Griffin said, “Zion is touched by the hand of God to play this game. He is a population of one.”"

When asked about Zion’s athletic ability, Griffin simply said,

"“He’s not normal.”"

So far, Griffin has been right. Since making his debut Zion Williamson has broken several records for field goal percentage and consecutive games with 20+ points for rookies.

He also regularly does things like this:

Coach Alvin Gentry has clearly tried to downplay the Zion Williamson hype, as he wants his rookie to keep working hard and improving, but even he can’t help but be impressed.

Gentry was trying to be understated when he said in a post-game press conference,

"“With him on the floor, obviously, we’re pretty good. There’s obviously a huge area of improvement that’s going to be made. He’s played three NBA games now and what he’s done, he’s just done on raw talent, really.”"

Gentry is trying to keep Zion Williamson humble, but will rise to the rookie’s defense when someone gets out of line.

According to ESPN’s Andrew Lopez, Gentry was asked about Zion’s conditioning and said,

"“I think he’s fine. We worry about him too freakin’ much, OK? He’s fine. He’s 19 years old. He’ll be fine.”"

Gentry knows when to hold back his praise and when to defend his young phenom.

Zion Williamson’s teammates have also had plenty to say about the young man from North Carolina.

What Zion’s teammates have to say…

Playing with such a hyped player is not always easy.

Sure, Zion Williamson makes the team better, is seemingly a great teammate and overall good guy, but it has to be hard to give over the entire spotlight to a 19-year-old rookie.

That hasn’t stopped his teammates from giving glowing reviews about Zion Williamson, going back to his time at Duke.

Former Blue Devil teammate R.J. Barrett had this to say about Zion Williamson in an interview before the Rising Stars Challenge:

"“It’s just I feel like with him he’s a player that we haven’t even seen before. It’s like, how do you even guard it?…I’ll give you the secret,” he said. “He’s going to do what he’s going to do, and you can’t stop it.”"

And Barrett has been right. How do you stop this?

https://twitter.com/PelicansNBA/status/1235417165903228928

Zion Williamson has averaged 23.6 points and 6.8 rebounds in his 19 games as a pro, and has looked like the best player in many years in the process.

His New Orleans Pelicans’ teammates agree.

Josh Hart was immediately impressed with Zion’s poise after his debut in which he scored 17 straight points. Hart said in the post-game press conference:

"To start the game, he wasn’t going 100 miles an hour trying to get that first bucket and get that monkey off his back. He made the right plays and I think that’s the biggest thing, especially for someone (his) age. With so many eyes on you, and so much pressure on you, it’s easy to conform and whether we win or lose have your debut be successful. He went out there and made the right plays and played well defensively."

Running mate Lonzo Ball has also been impressed and thinks he and and Zion have barely scratched the surface of their enormous potential together. He too was effusive in the press conference after Zion’s debut

"“Our games just complement each other. [Zion Williamson] gets out on the break. He’s a big, physical body. He screens and roll, I come off for the screen and pass. You know, we’ll help each other a lot.”"

Jrue Holiday was also blown away by Zion, saying,

"“He can miss and catch it in the air and dunk it. It’s God-given.”"

But not all of the praise heaped on Zion Williamson has been about his on the court feats. Nickeil Alexander-Walker had this to say on Zion’s character:

"God gave it to the right person,” Nickeil Alexander-Walker said to Christian Clark of Nola.com. You couldn’t have chose a better person to have what he has. The way he handles himself. The way he carries himself. How he moves as if he knows who he is at the end of the day. You’re not going to tell Zion who he is. There’s no way he’s going to feel moved by what the followers say — zero or 4 million."

Zion has showed that character during the hiatus, stepping up to help the workers at Smoothie King Center during this national crisis.

Zion Williamson has clearly gained the respect of his New Orleans Pelicans’ teammates, but also from some of the greats.

What the greats have to say about Zion Williamson…

Ex-NBA players are often grumpy and slow to praise the young guys.

They usually want to talk about how things were more difficult in their day, how modern players are soft or not as competitive.

This has not been the case with Zion Williamson, who has drawn universal praise from current and former players.

That includes Dwyane Wade, who was exited about Zion’s New Orleans Pelicans’ debut:

It certainly was.

Stephen Curry had this to say when asked about Zion Williamson’s potential according to USA Today:

"“He’s unreal. We were talking about him the other day in our team room. He has a lot of hype around him and he’s unbelievably talented, but you can’t teach, like, his passion and the way that … he plays. And, he plays hard every possession, and that’s an underrated skill that kids can … emulate.”"

The player Zion Williamson is most compared to is LeBron. This is largely because of their physical dominance, but LeBron mostly wanted to talk character when asked by ESPN, saying:

"“But the best thing I’ve noticed is he seems like a good kid. He seems like he’s got his head on straight…That’s the type of s— that strikes me. Everybody gets so caught up in the game itself. I look at the intangibles. And he seems like he has great intangibles and seems like a great kid.”"

Zion may be compared to LeBron, but has often stated that his favorite player is Michael Jordan, so he must have been thrilled when he heard himself mentioned in the same breath.

Here’s what Jordan’s teammate and Hall of Famer Scottie Pippen had to say about Zion when asked by “The Jump” host Rachel Nichols.

"Rachel Nichols asked Pippen: “Fill in the blank for me: Zion Williamson is the best NBA prospect since …” “Michael Jordan,” he replied. Wait, what? Past LeBron James? “Yes, past LeBron,” Pippen said."

Pretty impressive praise from one of the All-Time greats.

Here’s what Jordan himself had to say in a press conference after Zion’s debut:

"“I think what you saw the other night was a taste of what you’re going to see moving forward. He still has a lot to do but we think his passion for the game is coming through the way that he plays and I think that’s great for the league.”"

Anyone who knows the ultra-competitive Jordan knows that is about as effusive as he ever gets when talking about a young player.

But possibly the best quote came from legendary coach Jim Boeheim, who said of Zion Williamson,

"“He’s like Charles Barkley was except he shoots better than Charles did. And he’s not as fat.”"

https://twitter.com/espn/status/1085016649571450881

Whether it is his organization, coach, teammates or admirers around the league, no one has a bad word to say about Zion Williamson as a player or as a person.

Even former president Barack Obama weighed in:

The New Orleans Pelicans struck gold when they drafted Zion number one overall and we hope he spends his entire career delighting fans in the Big Easy.

He’s proven himself on the court and off, which is reflected in the respect Zion Williamson gets around the NBA.