The New Orleans Pelicans have been making some big strides in the league lately. The team has been performing well, winning games continuously and also taking down some other big names in the NBA. A lot of that credit goes to Pelicans star, Zion Williamson. The star forward’s performances lately have been drawing a lot of media attention and Pat McAfee looks to be joining the bandwagon as well.
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Sports analyst Pat McAfee was beyond hyped when he spoke about Zion Williamson and the New Orleans Pelicans. McAfee spoke extensively about what a superstar Zion is turning out to be lately on The Pat McAfee Show.
Pat McAfee went off on how good Zion Williamson has been lately. And all of Zion’s praises initially stemmed from the alley-oop dunk he had in the team’s win against the Brooklyn Nets last night.
McAfee went on to talk about Zion Williamson’s early days as a teen. The sports analyst mentioned how he had been keeping tabs on Williamson since he was 14 years old and already dunking on his opponents. And now, McAfee is hyped since fans are getting the adult version of the very same viral teenager.
“Zion Williamson is the real deal… This is years in the making, this is good for our lives… Now we’re seeing the adult version of the viral teenager. He is at his perfect form… Zion is becoming a superstar.”
Pat McAfee also shed some light on the rising stars in the league around Zion Williamson. He went on to talk about Anthony Edwards and the high-flying dunks he has been pulling off lately in games.
He even touched on Ja Morant as a high-flying electric dunker in the league and how he played with Zion Williamson growing up. And how amazing it’ll be for fans and the league when he does come back.
Some other players he talked about were Victor Wembanyama and how he is figuring out the game in his very first year in the league. He even shed some light on Kyrie Irving, Stephen Curry, and LeBron James.
Two European stars he chose to emphasize were Luka Doncic and Nikola Jokic, who were playing at high levels. So, in a nutshell, McAfee was hyped with how the NBA is slowly turning out to be.
Zion Williamson’s new approach to the game
Zion Williamson has been putting in the work these past few months and it has been visible in his performance on the court as well as his body structure as well. According to the news, Zion Williamson has lost over 25 lbs since the In-Season tournament. At first, Willaimson was heavily criticized for his weight and his off-court activities by numerous analysts.
Some of them even went so far as to call Zion a bust and how his career is now over, with the Pelicans at least. But lately, Williamson’s been the engine that has been driving the Pelicans through a hardened Western Conference. New Orleans has won eight out of their last 10 games of the season, giving them a 42-26 overall record.
The team is in the fifth spot in the West, with only half a game’s difference between them and the fourth-seeded Los Angeles Clippers team. And as much as people would like to credit the entire Pelicans squad, it has been Zion who has been leading them lately.
Zion Williamson became the team’s spark plug when he took matters into his own hands. His point production may have taken a dip since his previous years as per StatMuse, but it hasn’t resulted in his team suffering.
It is Williamson’s court vision and newly found ability to look for open teammates on the floor for easy shots instead of him trying to muscle into the paint and try to get points for the team. Now, due to Zion’s new approach to the game, his assist numbers have gone up as well as his teammate’s point production averages as well.
So, it seems like Zion is finally playing team basketball instead of trying to take over every game. And this approach has been beneficial for the team as the postseason finally approaches.
