NBA superstar Zion Williamson is living up to his billing, and that is no small feat given the expectations surrounding the Duke-trained forward who was chosen No. 1 overall in the 2019 NBA draft by the New Orleans Pelicans.
It has taken some time to see what a healthy Williamson can do, but tune in these days and the answer is apparent: A healthy Zion Williamson can do just about anything he wants on the basketball court.
And if you’re not going to stop him, he is not — repeat, not — going to stop himself. Williamson threw down a spectacular 360-degree dunk as an exclamation point on a Pelicans victory over the Phoenix Suns, and it was a dunk even the NBA is calling controversial.
(NBA.com sub-headline: “After a controversial dunk capped a strong Friday showing, Zion Williamson and the Pelicans beat the Suns again on Sunday.”)
What’s the controversy? Well, the game was essentially decided and some people expected Williamson in that situation to be satisfied and not to score again. Instead, Williamson did the exact opposite, rising for a late slam that merely added insult to defeat in the eyes of some Suns players, coaches, and fans.
Be warned, Williamson’s dunk also seemed to say, that after not playing for long stretches so far in his pro career, Williamson is not going to stop himself. The opposing defense will have to stop him. If there is any time left on the clock, he will attack. Is it really controversial?
NBA veteran and Basketball Hall of Fame inductee Isiah Thomas understands the dunk was viewed as controversial, but believes it shouldn’t be. Thomas is firmly on Williamson’s side in the so-called controversy, believing the star did just what he ought to have done — for his team and for the fans.
Thomas said, “I don’t when this ‘unwritten rule’ supposedly came in that you can’t score on me if I stop playing defense. It’s a 48-minute game. I just remember in my era if you stopped playing defense then guys scored on you. If you want to stop the other team, then get back and play defense.”
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