The upcoming NBA Draft is loaded with can’t-miss prospects, from AJ Dybantsa and Darryn Peterson to Cameron Boozer and Caleb Wilson. All four of these players are supremely talented college freshmen, but as we’ve learned from Zion Williamson, there’s almost no such thing as a can’t-miss pick.
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Zion was drafted first overall in 2019 after taking the college basketball world by storm during his only season at Duke. His explosive leaping ability, his soft touch around the rim, and the way he was able to move for such a big guy all made it seem like he was a lock to be the NBA’s next transcendent superstar.
That hasn’t come to pass, as Zion has battled weight issues and injuries while toiling in obscurity in New Orleans. He’s now in his sixth season in the league (he missed a whole year with a foot injury), and has never really come close to making the kind of impact he was projected to make coming out of school.
This has been a strange year for Zion. He’s lost some weight and been more durable than in most years, as his 45 games played are already the third-most of his career.
He’s averaging 21.5 points per game while shooting over 58% from the floor, which is something nobody has ever done before, but at the same time his rebounding average is as low as it’s ever been, and the Pelicans are one of the worst teams in the league and headed for yet another lottery appearance.
Zion sat down with ESPN’s Malika Andrews for his first in-depth interview in years, and while he took accountability for the direction his career has gone to this point, Paul Pierce said on No Fouls Given that he still needs to see a lot more.
“I remember the hype,” he said. “This was one of the ‘hypest’ guys since LeBron at the time, I felt like. I mean 21, 5, and 3 are good numbers, don’t get it twisted, but a guy like him, I feel like he should be around 27 and 10. “
“With his strength and his athleticism, he should be just dominating rebounds and bullying for 27 points. He should be shooting 10 free throws a game,” the former NBA champion asserted.
Wosny Lambre pointed out that scoring 20 points a game doesn’t mean what it used to, because today’s games are so much higher scoring. That puts Zion’s seemingly solid numbers into better perspective, but Pierce took it to another level by highlighting how bad the Pelicans are.
“When you’re on a bad team, you should be like 30 and 10. Y’all weak? Well go out there and dominate then,” he said. “I haven’t seen what I expected from him. Hopefully, I know he’s dealing with a lot of off-the-court stuff that’s been publicized, and maybe that can be a distraction, but I feel like he can be better than this.”
Just over a month ago, Jordan Brand announced that Zion would no longer have a signature shoe. Given how disappointing he’s been to this point, the move didn’t come as a surprise.
If there’s a silver lining, it’s that Zion is only 25, and the Pelicans look set to add a top lottery pick in this year’s draft. If he can keep improving his work ethic and stay healthy, not only could he show another young potential star the correct path to take, they could walk it together with guys like Derik Queen, Jeremiah Fears and Trey Murphy III in bringing the Pelicans back to relevance.
