After a short road trip, the New Orleans Pelicans have returned back to the Smoothie King Center for a 2-game homestand. Playing against the Oklahoma City Thunder, Zion Williamson and co. took on the floor in the absence of CJ McCollum and Brandon Ingram.
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Despite missing out on their two stars, Williamson managed to lead his team to a huge win. Recording 23 points, 8 rebounds, 8 assists, 3 blocks, and a steal, “Zanos” helped NOLA grab a 105-101 win.
Yea, he did a lil bit of everything 😏#Pelicans | @Gatorade pic.twitter.com/yFy8cNupdM
— New Orleans Pelicans (@PelicansNBA) November 29, 2022
And just like that, thanks to a 3-1 record over the last 4 games, the Pels have a 12-8 record and are sitting at 3rd in the Western Conference.
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Zion Williamson achieves impressive feat on his 100th game, only trails Michael Jordan
Sure, it did take more time than it takes other players, but Zion Williamson has finally played his 100th career game as an NBA professional.
Williamson’s stats after 100 games are impressive, to say the least.
Recording a total of 2,524 points, Zion has the 2nd most by an NBA player through their first 100 career games. The only player the former Duke Blue Devil trails? Michael Jordan by just 197 points.
Pelicans star Zion Williamson’s 2,524 points through 100 career games is the most points by an NBA player through 100 career games since Michael Jordan from 1984-85 to 1985-86 seasons (2,721). pic.twitter.com/GWM9812zuX
— Marc J. Spears (@MarcJSpears) November 29, 2022
Further, the 22-year-old joins the elite company of Shaquille O’Neal, Charles Barkley, and Kevin McHale as the only players to record 25+ PPG on 60% FG in the first 100-game span.
Zion talks about the learnings from his first 100 games
Talking about the feeling of playing his 100th career game, the 1-time All-Star spoke about the injuries that held him back.
“It’s been a long journey, but would I have liked it to look like that? Absolutely not. I would’ve liked to have played every game,” Williamson said.
However, the lingering injuries he sustained have actually helped him mature as a player. Zion said, “But at the end of the day, it’s helped me mentally and spiritually and growing as a man.”.
Mentioning the takeaways from his 100 career games, the 6-foot-7 forward revealed:
“So for me to finally hit a hundred games … Think about it, I’m on three coaches. This is the first year where the locker room has looked somewhat the same players-wise. The thing I can take away from that is it’s just good to kind of have just steady people around me now.”
A healthy Zion is one of the most dominant players in the league. Hopefully, the youngster doesn’t suffer any other major injury throughout his career.
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