Zion Williamson is inspired by Naruto, says he wants to stay true to himself, just like the 7th Hokage

Zion Williamson is a Gen Z Anime fan – just like all other 22-year-olds of today.

However deep your pockets may be, people will still act their age. Zion Williamson is no exception. The New Orleans Pelicans man is a 290+ pound monster on the court, but during his free time, he’s just a regular kid who binges on anime on Crunchyroll.

He’s based his life purpose on Naruto. The extremely popular Shonen Anime has captured the world’s youth for the better part of a decade and a half. The yellow-haired simpleton from Konoha has had a lot of life lessons, and Zion seems to fancy a lot of them. Zion is obsessed with the fictional character that he’s built his whole sneaker signature line around him.

Naruto stays true to himself, which is why Zion wants to be too. He loves the ramen-loving protagonist so much that he turned up to a comic-con panel wearing a Hokage robe as cosplay. Every teenager dreams of being on a panel as your favorite character, Zion lived.

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Zion Williamson will be looking to channel some of that Choji Akimichi weight loss program this season

Williamson had a horror injury that sidelined him for a season and then some. He also entered the league hurt, so the window of watching him play was limited. In that time, we’d seen what an explosive player he could be, just like Choji, one of Naruto’s earliest friends. Right after his most extensive injury yet, Zion seemed to have transformed into him completely.

But with the latest clause in his contract, he’s now slimmed down, making him the Choji of the future. A once portly, chubby boy turns into a rugged, immovable monster – we’ve already seen that before. Zion also continues to state that 80% of the league is into anime, they just don’t show it. The stigma around the popular Japanese art form is still real.

“From what I’ve been through to get to where I am and what I go through to this day,” he says, “Naruto has always been there and always will be”.  Zion also takes solace in the fact that a character so liked is his safe place.  The fans of the young forward are waiting to see if we will get a Naruto run on a fastbreak sometime soon. Even a “Rock Lee” stance should do just fine.

Also Read: “Zion Williamson, your shoes look more like Raichu than Naruto!”: Fans berate Pelicans star for ruining his ‘Michael Jordan collaboration’