Prior to their first appearance together on the sets of First Take, ESPN co-hosts Stephen A. Smith and Shannon Sharpe appeared on the Club Shay Shay podcast. At one point in the must-see episode, the two analysts had a brief conversation about Zion Williamson. While Sharpe compared the 284lb New Orleans Pelicans star to Charles Barkley, Stephen A. couldn’t help but question his passion for the game.
Advertisement
Zion Williamson has several similarities with Charles Barkley. Standing at 6ft 6”, both forwards earned their bread and butter by dominating the paint. Slightly overweight, Williamson has often drawn comparisons to Sir Charles. Even before Zion stepped on the NBA hardwood and put on a considerable amount of weight, Barkley revealed being offended by the constant comparisons.
Stephen A. Smith believes that Zion Williamson just doesn’t ‘care enough’
At one point in the near-two-hour-long episode, Shannon Sharpe and Stephen A. Smith spoke about Zion Williamson and addressed the issue behind his alarming weight. Sharpe kickstarted the discussion by stating that Charles Barkley would be the best person for the former Duke Blue Devil to take advice from.
“I think the greatest person that he needs to sit down and have an hour-long conversation with is Charles Barkley. He’s a more athletic Charles Barkley,” Sharpe said.
Stephen A. was slightly more crude with his take on the matter. According to the 55-year-old, Williamson didn’t have the passion anymore to care about shedding some weight. Smith believes that had Williamson cared enough, he would’ve taken dietary measures to have his weight in control. However, SAS pointed out that the New Orleans Pelicans star’s dedication would be slightly different if he represented big market franchises, such as the New York Knicks:
“I don’t think he cares enough. I’m not saying that he doesn’t care, I’m not talking about caring, I’m talking about that fire in his belly… Because I believe he’s in a market he don’t wanna be in. I believe if he was in New York or someplace where he really, really wanted to be, we would see a more dedicated Zion to his physicality.”
“The point is, I don’t know that to be sure but you can’t walk around as big as he is and tell me you dedicated…Even when you’re restricted in terms of your mobility, you know what you’ll do? You’ll eat less and you’ll eat better cause you’ll fear bloating, you fear blowing up, and not being ready when called upon once you heal. That hasn’t been the case,” Stephen A. added.
Certainly, Williamson putting up a significant amount of weight must’ve been alarming for the Louisiana side. Now that the southpaw is cleared to take on the hardwood, the front office will hope that Zion is in good enough shape to suit up for training camp. However, Smith mentioning New York might intrigue some fans about SAS’s hopes to see Williamson in Knicks colors.
As per Charles Barkley, Zion’s bad company is the reason behind his problems
Charles Barkley has been pretty vocal about Zion’s weight issues. There were times when Chuck was rather nasty and trolled the youngster. But, there have also been instances when the Round Mound of Rebound has dished out some real advice.
A few months back, the TNT analyst advised the 23-year-old to hire a personal chef. Furthermore, the Chuckster didn’t hold back as he criticized the company of people around Williamson.
