Charles Barkley will go down as one of the greatest forwards of all time, and he has some perhaps not so kind advice for Zion Williamson, the next great forward of this generation, supposedly.
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Zion Williamson became a household name ever since his days in high school. The athletic forward would go viral almost every day for some dunk or the other.
These dunks were no slouches either as it really looked like Zion had the power and athleticism to pull off dunks nobody had seen before from someone his age.
Attention on Zion only increased after he committed to playing for Duke basketball. Playing alongside R.J. Barrett and Cam Reddish, the Blue Devils looked unbeatable. However, their title run ended earlier than many thought. It didn’t hurt Zion’s stock, however.
He was seen as by and far the best player int he 2019 draft, and the Pelicans confirmed that thought when they selected him first overall. However, it’s been a while since we’ve seen Zion play and that’s starting to raise some concerns.
Charles Barkley roasts Zion Williamson for his weight issues
Zion had an impressive rookie season, and then he followed that up with an even more impressive sophomore season. In his second year in the league, Zion averaged 27 points per game, 7.2 rebounds per game, and 3.7 assists per game while being an absolute force in the paint, putting up stats similar to Shaquille O’Neal down low.
However, in those first two years, Zion played only 85 out of 154 games. He missed last season completely with a fractured foot that he’s recovering from this offseason.
The injuries have created some tension between the Pelicans and Zion as while Zion has indicated he’ll happily sign a max extension with the team, GM David Griffin exercised some caution.
“Obviously, that conversation is going to be one that will be a challenge,” Griffin explained. “When it’s time to have that, we’ll have it. And right now what we’re focused on is him being healthy, and (being in) kind of elite condition to play basketball and we’ll start there.”
A max extension would give Zion around $200 million (somewhere in the $185-195 range to be exact). Concerns about Zion also stem from his increasing weight which could affect his injury risk in the future. For someone who’s jumping and landing on his feet as much as Zion is, it’s important he keeps his weight at a reasonable level.
Reports early on in the season indicated that Zion weighed around 330 pounds which would be absolutely absurd. Charles Barkley recently gave his insight on the situation in the most Charles Barkley way possible.
It’s something you’d expect from Chuck, but nevertheless, the roast couldn’t be more targeted.
