NBA Beware: Zion Williamson is Developing a Jumper

Zion Williamson hinted at some new additions to his game after he spent the hiatus keeping in shape and working on fundamentals.

Zion Williamson went 4-4 from 3-point range in the 4th quarter of his very first game, shocking those who said he was just a dunker.

In the 18 games that followed, Zion went 2 for 9 from 3-point range while dominating down low, putting up shot charts that looked like a single dot underneath the hoop.

Zion figured out quickly that there was no reason to launch long-range shots when you can just dunk on everyone.

In fact, Zion makes 8.4 shots per game from within five feet, which leads the NBA. Second place is reigning MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo, who makes 7.8 such shots per game.

Williamson is nearly unstoppable once he catches it in the paint, and even if he misses the shot, he often jumps up, grabs the board and slams it home before anyone else has had time to react.

Zion Williamson is already one of the most dominant post players in the league and he’s played only 19 games.

If he ever adds a jumper, it’s time for the league to get scared.

Well, it’s time to get scared.

In addition to rehabbing his knee and improving his conditioning, Zion spent the hiatus adding some new wrinkles to his game and hinted one of the additions may be a jumper.

According to ESPN, Zion was cryptic about some new additions to his game.

"“Yeah, I think there are going to be parts of my game that you didn’t see before that you’ll see when we start playing.”"

Alvin Gentry was asked about Zion Williamson and said he “looked great” before adding this about his shot:

"“He’s made a lot of strides in his shooting, I think. Although we weren’t together, he did a lot to improve his game.”"

First off, I should say that there is nothing wrong with Zion’s shot. There is simply no reason for him to be launching 3-pointers when he can get to the rim and score 63% of the time.

But if he can add the threat of a jumper, it will open up his penetration and low-post game even more.

Right now, the most effective way to stop Zion is to back off him with a taller defender, allow Zion to drive into him and then double from the weak side.

The Dallas Mavericks did this perfectly just before the break and were able to block Zion’s shot five times using Kristaps Porzingis and Maxi Kleber.

If Zion starts shooting more confidently, this strategy won’t work. Defenders will have to step out and Zion will be able to beat most of them off the dribble.

If Zion Williamson develops even a league average jumper, he’s going to be virtually unstoppable on offense.

It’s hard to say how much of the “hiatus hype” we can believe. It seems like every player in the league put on 20 lbs. of muscle or miraculously grew 3/4 of an inch, but if Zion’s slimmer frame is any indication, he’s been putting in the work.

His jump shot wasn’t supposed to come around this fast, but then again, no one expected a four month break in the middle of the season.

We’ll see on July 30th if the Zion jumper is just hype or the real deal. Either way, there will be dunks.