Last night in Los Angeles, wrestling legend Ric Flair was in attendance to see LeBron James and Anthony Davis go up against Zion Williamson and the Pelicans, in the first ever match-up seeing Williamson oppose the NBA's resident king.
Flair, a legend not just in the wrestling world but extending beyond to other arenas, is known for many catch-phrases, one of which is "To be The Man, you gotta beat The Man". For all intents and purposes, James is the current man in the NBA, the most accomplished, and still one of its most dominant. Williamson, not yet 20 years old, wants to get their some day, wants to be that man, and while his team lost last night, Williamson did show that he has all the capabilities to become that man in the future.
A two play sequence in the second quarter that displayed those capabilities went like this:
Williamson caught a pass at mid-court from Jrue Holiday, and took one right hand dribble before switching back left. A step got him by Kyle Kuzma, who was backpedaling into the key. Williamson jumped off his right foot, and - having gotten by Kuzma - elevated and laid the ball in with left hand off the glass.
On the ensuing Pelican possession, Williamson caught again from the Holiday, this time on the left side beyond the three point arc. With no one in front of him. the rookie took three dribbles in the key, and got fouled by Dwight Howard as he went up for a layup attempt.
Not only on those two plays did he show his speed in the open floor, but also his handling ability and power. At 6'6, and we guess somewhere between 285 and 300 pounds, the 19 year old rookie is a Charles Barkley-LeBron hybrid, as compact as bodies come but with the running ability of a deer, strength of a bull, and the bounce of a kangaroo (his vertical leap is 47 inches). He represents the next generation athlete, and seems like an extraterrestrial from the future who just descended upon the Earth.
Playing opposite James and Davis last night, Williamson was special once again. 29 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, and 1 steal. 8 out of 18 from the field, and 13 out of 19 from the line. Fast in the open floor, but with the strength to bang down low, Williamson does a great job of - when guarded by taller defenders like Davis and Howard - using his body to get into the defender and create contact, rather than go straight up, which would likely result in a blocked shot. On another play that showed his strength and leaping ability, he ripped down a rebound off of a Holiday miss, and - with his quick jump - sprung back up to slam the ball with two hands. Color commentator Jim Jackson reacted with a "wow", while play-by-play man Brian Anderson spoke of Williamson's "quick second jump".
It would be one thing if his impressive highlights and numbers was a here and there occurrence, but Williamson is doing this over an extended period, the mark of a truly special talent. He has scored over 20 in 9 straight games, with two 30-point outings, and is doing it against playoff teams. 21 and 10 against the Houston Rockets, 20/7/5 against the Milwaukee Bucks, 32 and 6 rebounds against the Oklahoma City Thunder, and last night's performance against the team with the West's best record. As the broadcast noted last night, Patrick Ewing in the 1985-1986 season won Rookie of the Year while playing just 50 games, the Portland Trail Blazers' Brandon Roy did it in the 2006-2007 season playing 57, and Terry Dischinger of the Chicago Zephers did it also in 57 games, in the 1962-1963 season. For Williamson, the maximum number of games he can play this season is 37, so he most likely hasn't played enough to be able to walk away with the award at the end of the season.
However, while it is unlikely that he has done enough to win the award, he has cemented his status as the best player in this rookie class, with all due respect to the Rookie of the Year frontrunner Ja Morant. Not only has Williamson done it against the average teams, but against the best of the best.
A true sign of greatness.
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