Stop Whining about Zion Williamson Getting Special Treatment

New Orleans Pelicans: Zion brings numbers that Memphis does not

Notes on the Grizzlies

First of all, let’s start by saying we have nothing against the Memphis Grizzlies. We ride with the small market teams and though we have a nice budding rivalry, we dig Ja Morant and the upstart Grizzlies.

Their current standing in the Western Conference should be given special consideration and they should be given a tiebreak advantage in whatever format the NBA chooses.

But let’s not act like they were running away with it. The New Orleans Pelicans were only 3.5 games back, had two more against Memphis and had already trounced them twice. There is a good chance that had the season played out, Memphis wouldn’t be in at all.

I don’t blame Memphis fans for wanting to keep the Pelicans out by any means necessary, but let’s not ignore reality.

Also, Memphis will be included in any format, so the Pelicans would not be added at their expense, and if Memphis is so much better, as many of their fans claim, they should have no worries about the Pels.

There are also three other current non-playoff teams that could potentially be included in Portland, San Antonio and Sacramento. Why are there no articles about how the league is trying to rig a system to include Damian Lillard?

Where’s the outrage about the special treatment being given to the Kings? The Spurs?

Could it be that no one is scared of these teams while no one wants to play the Pelicans? I wonder.

Zion Williamson = Ratings.

According to Google Trends, Zion was the 8th most searched athlete in the world in 2019. That includes every sport IN THE WORLD.

This data was largely compiled before Zion was even in the NBA.

Zion is exciting, fun and there’s something magical about seeing a 285 lb. man who can fly. The Pelicans had 30 nationally televised games scheduled for this season, and the Grizzlies had one, which was against the Pelicans.

The NBA’s TV ratings took a dip this year, down 12 percent across the board and the league took notice.

Ja Morant is an exciting young player and likely Rookie of the Year, but he doesn’t capture attention and imagination in the same way as Zion. Few outside of Memphis care about Morant and the Grizzlies. Sorry, but that’s true.

Zion Williamson, on the other hand, gets searched more times than LeBron James and I’m pretty certain most of those searches are not coming from New Orleans.

The NBA has lost a ton of revenue to the China boycott and cancelled games, so why wouldn’t they want to bring back one of the most popular players in the league to recoup some of that?

The NBA is a business after all and Zion brings eyeballs to TV sets. It’s that simple.

And once again, Memphis would still get a shot and will certainly be included as well. So what exactly is the problem here?