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He’s just six games into his NBA career but Zion Williamson has already proved not only does he belong but that he’s a star.
So far he’s averaging 19.5 ppg, 8.2 rpg, 1.7 app and 0.3 bpg and against the Rockets he had 21 points and 10 boards.
That’s nothing new; he’s been doing that since he was at Duke. But what he hasn’t been doing since returning from his knee injury and surgery is to play with abandon. Instead of trying to block shots he puts a hand up and he hasn’t really gone for open court steals the way he did at Duke.
He’s getting closer to true game shape and those instinctive plays are starting to happen again.
As you probably know, Russell Westbrook is freakishly athletic. He beat Williamson to the basket Sunday - only to find that Williamson, as he so often did in college, caught him from behind and blocked his shot.
Against Westbrook! Amazing.
The quickness is also returning to his spin moves as you’ll see in these highlights from the Pelicans-Rockets game. He’s still not 100 percent but as that block shows, he’s getting closer each night.