“Carmelo Anthony jabbed me, I fell for it”: Zion Williamson reveals his ‘Welcome to the NBA’ moment on the JJ Redick podcast

Tonoy Sengupta | 06/03/2021
"Carmelo Anthony jabbed me, I fell for it": Zion Williamson reveals his 'Welcome to the NBA' moment on the JJ Redick podcast

Zion Williamson speaks out about the moment he was schooled by Carmelo Anthony during his first year in the NBA. 

Despite a rough start to the season, Zion Williamson and the Pelicans have been picking it up in recent games. But, with the sophomore’s game still not being completely polished, there are going to be occasions where he’s exposed in the NBA.

Recently, Williamson spoke about one such time, when Carmelo Anthony taught him a thing or two. The incident in question happened last season. But the way the player was blushing, you’d believe it only happened yesterday.

What is the moment in question though?

Also Read: Kevin Durant bodies former OKC teammate as LeBron James laughs during the All-Star 2021 Draft

“Oh no, he didn’t go”: Zion Williamson recalls the time Carmelo Anthony embarrassed him as a rookie

Zion Williamson was a guest on an episode “The Old Man and the Three”. Here, when asked about some of the players he has enjoyed playing against, Carmelo Anthony was the first name out of his mouth.

Speaking further, he talked about the moment Anthony had him on skates in the NBA:

“You saw the clip where I think he jabbed — I’ll never forget that,” the Pelicans star said. “Jeff, our defensive coach last year, was like if he goes to drive, let him drive. Like, all right, I got you. So he jabs me, I turned, and I’m like, ‘oh no, he didn’t go.’”

Also Read: How Kobe Bryant knew what he wanted for the future and his NBA career even as a High-School senior

The clip that was attached to the video clearly showed Zion Williamson falling for the jabs completely. The play ended with the young player all turned about, and Carmelo Anthony smoothly making his mid-range jumper. In many ways, that was Williamson’s ‘welcome to the NBA’ moment.

Overall, though, it clearly inspired the young player, while the veteran got to show the world he’s still got it. And as NBA fans, we hope to see many more battles between the two in the future.

 

 

Post Edited By: Amulya Shekhar
Carmelo Anthony NBA New Orleans Pelicans Portland Trail Blazers 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.

Don’t miss these