NFL
By: Joe Cardoso
Sports is a “what have you done for me lately” business. You can go from the lead story on Sportscenter to the back page of the New York Post fast. The year was 2018 and the Duke Blue Devils were EVERYWHERE the face of the team was a kid from North Carolina named Zion Williamson. His games were must-see and even I the ultimate Duke hater had to admit the kid was blockbuster awesome. His combination of size, speed, and, power made him a man among boys.
When he busted out of his Nike versus UNC it was breaking news everywhere, even the 44th president Barrack Obama was in attendance and holding his breath along with Duke fans and Nike bigwigs. He suffered a knee sprain and, missed 6 games from playing in a cheaply-made shoe. He would go on to make it to the Elite 8 and winning every award under the sun including ACC Player of The Year and ACC Tournament MVP.
The debate, if he would be the number one overall pick, lasted 30 seconds if best. As the social media hype train ran wild we all couldn’t wait for him to be next and take over the league. With the Pelicans being an afterthought to hoop fans it was a gift from the basketball Gods that gave the Pels the top pick and a savior to put the organization front and center and butts in seats.
Things started off with a BANG until a preseason knee injury had him miss a great deal of his rookie season, year two had him make the All-Star team but no playoff appearance he played 61 games. His then-head coach Stan Van Gundy was fired after one season so an early pattern of instability was becoming the norm.
In year 3, a foot injury would not heal and he missed the entire season that is when the hype died down and social media began to throw around the B word “bust” did New Orleans get hit with Voodoo and draft the wrong player? Memes and internet doctors started to question everything about a kid not even yet 20 years old and to think it didn’t affect Zion Williamson would be completely wrong as he has come out publicly and said as much.
To be robbed of the game you love and then deal with fat jokes and your commitment to the team being questioned on the daily. All the Pelicans, their fans, and Zion Williamson wanted to do was be healthy and ball out on a team that was having success without him, he was the missing piece.
A Star Is Born In Zion Williamson
With the help of family and underrated coaching staff, the front office with members like Basketball Hall of Famers Swin Cash and Teresa Weatherspoon to help guide him on this journey and get back to doing what he loves to do. He has talked about the bond he shares with Weatherspoon who helped him during the dark times and still does. And not to be forgotten is how some people thought the Pels were such a bad organization that Zion should have considered going back to school. Real Pels fans remember and won’t forget it.
Now here we are 26 games into the season and Zion Williamson has played 21 of them and his numbers have him in the MVP conversation and All-Star voting top of the top. Oh, and New Orleans is the top team in the West right now and is doing it on the road and at home. It’s like watching Charles Barkley meets Rodney Rogers, meets Shawn Kemp. And he is adding a mid-range game which I am sure we can call the CJ McCollum effect and his 3-pointer has improved.
This is one of the top stories of the league so far right up there with the Sacramento Kings playing better and Utah Jazz hot start. As I type this article people are STILL trying to scrub their socials of all the Zion Williamson hate and dusting off those jerseys. Crazy what can happen when we let a player grow on and off the floor, and get healthy. I love a good comeback story! Over 500 days on the shelf, all the jokes, media who talked trash he is taking it all out on the league The rest of the league has been warned this young man and this team are coming with receipts and a no-fear attitude. But some respect on his name and his squad.
