“Zion Williamson really almost popped the basketball during his Duke days”: When the Pelicans sensation almost deflated the ball during a college game

During Duke’s historic 23-point comeback game against the Louisville Cardinals, New Orleans Pelicans superstar Zion Williamson had a rather bizarre moment when he almost deflated the ball stealing it from the opponent.

Back in 2019, Zion Williamson was one of the most hyped prospects entering the league since LeBron James in 2003. And it is safe to say that Zion has lived up to, or some might even argue superseded, all the surreal expectations set for him. Having played only 2 seasons till now, Williamson has already established himself as one of the best players in the league, who will surely be one of the future faces of the NBA.

This past season, despite all of New Orleans Pelicans’ failures, the 21-year-old had quite a sensational campaign individually. Averaging 27 points, 7.2 rebounds and 3.7 assists on an outstanding 61.1% shooting from the field, Zion proved all his haters and naysayers wrong. For such a successful performance, the forward was even rewarded as he was selected to make his first All-Star appearance back in March.

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Now, Zion is a pretty strong guy. Standing at 6-foot-7 and weighing an enormous 284 pounds, he is one of the most dominant guys in the league. Averaging 19.5 points in the paint this past year, “Zanos” managed to exploit this massive advantage he has over all the other superstars.

However, Williamson has been dominating, some might even call it bullying, ever since his high school days. And one such instance where Zion unintentionally showcased his mighty strength came two years back, while he still was playing for the Duke Blue Devils.

Zion Williamson almost deflated the ball while stealing it from a Louisville Cardinal player

Back in 2019, the Duke Blue Devils had one of the best teams in the nation with players like Zion Williamson, RJ Barrett, Cam Reddish and Tre Jones leading the pack, all of who are now in the league. One of the greatest matches of their historic 2018-2019 run came on 12^th February 2019. Playing against the Louisville Cardinals, Coach K’s boys managed to mount a historic 23-point comeback, while having only a 0.1% probability of doing so, to win the jaw-dropping encounter 71-69.

Among many exciting moments during the well-fought battle, was the bizarre moment when Zion unintentionally showcased his raw strength. During the comeback, Williamson managed to strip the ball away from the Cardinals’ star forward Jordan Nwora. What was so incredible about it, while wrestling for the ball, Zion almost deflated the basketball with just his fingers.

It does sound inhuman, but no we are not making this up. Here, have a look at it.

 

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NBA Twitter erupted with all their nasty memes as soon as the then-18-year-old Williamson displayed his insane strength.

 

 

“Cmon Zion! Gimme the ball it’s MINE!

MOM ZION WONT GIMME THE BALL!” pic.twitter.com/8TI5n9EGVb

— Zach Prosperi (@Zach_Prosperi) February 13, 2019

At this point, Zion could do a Monstars-style dunk and I’d be like, “yeah that checks out.” pic.twitter.com/sVJIymXs4s

— JBol 🦞⛳️ (@jmoney0448) February 13, 2019

Zion so strong he could throw a cotton ball on the roof of Cameron Stadium

— Dollar Menu Nigga (@ExtendoJohnson) February 13, 2019

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This is just one of Zion’s many “this cannot be real” moments. And clearly, we have never witnessed an athlete quite like Zion Williamson.