Zion Williamson opens up on his time off the court, and what he has learned from it
Advertisement
The world has waited a long time to see Zion Williamson back on the court, and so far, it has been well worth the wait.
Sure, there haven’t been any scoring explosions so far, but the man looks like the best version of himself. He’s faster, is more willing to run, and his already quick first step looks like it’s in a different universe now.
Just these things alone make his game so much more effective than they are already. Suddenly every jab step is bitten, every fake fools and overall far more points are scored.
But this phase of excitement comes after a long, long time of anxiety and sadness for Zion. And recently, the man opened up on how he dealt with it.
Also Read: “Kill Him With Kindness”: Trick to Guarding Michael Jordan Was Praise as Per Byron Scott
Zion Williamson admits he was in ‘dark places’ during his downtime
Being away from your favorite sport for a whole year is hard. But, what’s harder is gaining significant weight during all that time, and the world constantly shaming you for it.
Yet, some of the more mean-spirited fans of the NBA just don’t care, leading to some twisted experiences for the Pelicans man.
Speaking to Sports Illustrated about just this, here is what he had to say on the matter.
“I was in dark places at times,” Williamson says, “because I couldn’t play basketball. I could only do limited rehab things. And then just seeing how the world reacted? It took a lot. It did a lot on my spirit… “I’ve grown, I learned a lot about myself, learned more about the game.”
But, on a more positive note, he also gave the rest of the NBA a little frightening nite about what’s to come.
“They’re going to see that I’ve matured off the court and, on the court, … And they’re also gonna see that my game has evolved. I’m gonna show the world things that I’ve had in my arsenal that I didn’t show before.”
Zion Williamson has been pretty scary as it is. But now, with the man healthier than ever before, and not afraid to get deeper into his bag of tricks, while being supported by better teammates?
It may be time to call it quits for the rest of the NBA.
Can Zion Williamson and the Pelicans win an NBA title this season?
The Pelicans are looking pretty promising right now.
They have a rising Brandon Ingram, an unleashed CJ McCollum, Herb Jones, and now a healthy Zion Williamson as well?
On paper, absolutely they have a chance to win.
However, team chemistry is a real thing, and this is a new, relatively young group.
So, while it isn’t impossible for the Pelicans to be up there in the standings, frankly, the team still seems maybe a year away from challenging the top dogs for an NBA title.
