Zion Williamson’s ‘Thunderous’ Slam Draws Parallels to $15.597 Million Painting by French Artist

Zion Williamson had a dominant performance in the New Orleans Pelicans’ 104-91 road win against the Brooklyn Nets yesterday. Playing for 33 minutes, Williamson finished the night with a game-high 28 points to go along with 7 rebounds, 4 assists, and a steal, per NBA.com. Apart from being the best player on the floor, the 6ft 6” forward also pulled off the most impressive play of the contest. A dunk so majestic that it’s now being compared to an iconic painting.

In the beginning of the fourth quarter of the bout, during a Pelicans’ 2-on-1 fast break opportunity, Naji Marshall tossed up an accurate lob for Zion Williamson. Known for being a highflyer, Williamson flushed down the emphatic slam, showcasing his incredible athleticism. The arch that Zion’s back created while catching the lob from the back of his head grabbed the attention of fans on social media.

Needless to say, the video of the dunk has gone viral. Amidst all the praise, popular X (formerly “Twitter”) user, @ArtButSports, compared the picture of the dunk to an iconic painting. As surprising as it may seem, a frame from Williamson’s powerful slam does resemble Frenchman Yves Klein’s painting – Barbara (Ant 113), 1960.

As per Christie’s, the 64-year-old abstract painting is worth $15.597 million. According to the site, the “ANT 113 belongs to a select subset of Anthropométries in which the body appears to take flight in a transcendental act of levitation.” The painting was also described as:

“With its blue corporeal form suspended within a vast white void, Barbara (ANT 113) is an exceptional, monumentally-scaled example of Yves Klein’s groundbreaking Anthropométries. In the artist’s signature International Klein Blue (IKB) pigment, the work registers multiple impacts of a human body, creating a larger-than-life trace of the figure that hovers as if caught in motion.”

It seems rather bizarre to compare a dunk to an abstract painting from more than six decades ago. However, with Zion’s pose mid-air and the Pelicans’ blue jersey, there are uncanny resemblances that one cannot deny.

Zion Williamson speaks about his viral dunk from the Pels-Nets contest

As expected, Zion Williamson commented on the vicious dunk from the contest. Talking about it in the postgame interview, he revealed how Naji Marshall had already had a conversation with him regarding dunking in the paint. Hence, once Marshall stole the ball and had only one defender beside him in the open court, Zanos was aware that there was a lob incoming for him.

“Me and him had just talked about it he said, ‘Hey man when you go to the paint you need to start dunking.’ When he got the steal I said, ‘Oh he’s throwing it.’ So he threw a good pass and I went and got it,” Zion said.

Zion has been in fine form. Since shedding a considerable amount of weight, Williamson has witnessed a rise in his production. Especially over the past four games, the former Duke Blue Devil has taken things up a notch, recording 30.3 points and 8.3 rebounds per game, per ESPN.

With merely 14 games left for the regular season to conclude, Zion Williamson has caught fire at the right time. Entering the playoffs with this form, he could very well lead the Louisiana side to upset one of the strong powerhouses in the West.