Shaquille O’Neal Marvels At Rare Middle School Footage of Zion Williamson: “How Would You Like to Play in JV?”

Tonoy Sengupta | 19/07/2023
Shaquille O’Neal Finds Rare Middle School Footage of Zion Williamson: “How Would You Like to Play in JV?”

Zion Williamson was one of the most desired prospects during his time in high school, and it’s easy to see why. Despite his relatively high weight for his size, the now-Pelicans star is one of the most athletic players of all time. Shaquille O’Neal went back in time and found footage of the 23-year-old as an eighth grader.

Zion Williamson was a different animal back in middle school. Across his 2 years played, he lost just 3 games cumulatively and averaged about 20 points per contest.

He was already building up to be one of the bigger prospects in his draft class at the time. And so, during an interview, he was once asked if he’d like to play Junior Varsity, a massive step up for any middle-schooler.

Interviewer: ‘How Would You Like to Play in JV?’

Zion: Yeah, I think I would be ready… It really wouldn’t matter.

Shaquille O’Neal found the clip and immediately shared it on his Instagram story.

Zion Williamson continued his confident rise to the top in high school as well. As a senior, he averaged 36.4 points, 11.4 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 3.4 steals, and 2.3 blocks per game. He shot 78.2% from the field.

Zion takes LeBron James as an example of how to better his career

Zion Williamson has had multiple problems with his health. Many blame the weight he tends to gain, however, his problems likely go deeper than that.

Even at his fittest, his hamstring and his knees have given him problems. And that could be due to a multitude of factors, including diet. In the past, the star has admitted that with all the money he has, it can be hard to stay disciplined in terms of what he eats.

However, on a recent occasion, he talked about following the path LeBron James has laid out already to finally be able to get back and stay on the court for more time than he has ever seen in the NBA. Read all the details here.

Post Edited By: Raahib Singh
NBA Zion Williamson

About the author

Tonoy Sengupta

Tonoy Sengupta

Tonoy Sengupta is a Senior Editor at The SportsRush. Coming from an athletically inclined family, he has been surrounded by sports ever since he was 4 years old. But, while initially pouring all his time into Football (soccer), at 14, Tonoy discovered basketball through the countless highlights of Stephen Curry humiliating players from Curry Land. And just like that, a fiery passion for the game was ignited within Tonoy. And soon after, he decided to become a student of journalism, graduating in 2022, and choosing sports as his area of interest. Today, you can find him spending 99% of his time browsing through every type of content on every team in the NBA, before uncorking everything he has found to the world. In the 1% he isn't doing this, you can find him playing Basketball, Football, Volleyball, or practically any other sport he has had the opportunity to learn.

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