There’s not much that needs to be said about Zion Williamson. On top of coming off arguably the greatest freshman season of all-time, Williamson is unquestionably the most famous college athlete of all-time. Few prospects have ever had the amount of pressure Williamson will have when he is drafted in June but fewer prospects have been as dominant as Williamson was.
First, his insane measurements:
Height: 6’6″
Weight: 272 pounds
Vertical: 40″
Wingspan: 6’10.5″
Standing Reach: 8’7″
Built like an NFL defensive end, Williamson is one of the most ridiculous athletes in modern history. Putting it another way, Williamson is one inch short and about 20 pounds lighter than Julius Peppers, one of the best defensive ends in NFL history, has a vertical equal to Donovan Mitchell and a wingspan equal to Justise Winslow.
He’s a physical anomaly that has no precedent. He moves like a running back, jumps like an Olympic athlete and is built like a linebacker. He’s already one of the greatest athletes to ever play basketball and he hasn’t even scratched the surface.
Profile
Williamson’s impact in games goes far beyond the numbers and that’s even with the numbers being eye-popping. In 33 games, he averaged 22.6 points, 8.9 rebounds, 2.1 assists, 2.1 steals and 1.8 blocks. He shot 68 percent from the field and even knocked down 33.8 percent of his three-pointers.
Not surprisingly, no freshman since 1992-93 has put together a season with at least 22 points, 8 rebounds 2 assists and 2 steals while shooting 60 percent from the field. On the season, Williamson shot a staggering 72.0 percent at the rim with 79.2 percent of his shots coming there.
There is no one singular area Williamson stands out in most but his ability to get to the rim and finish there is unparalleled. His athleticism and agility makes him look like a running back at times and highlights his ability to get to the rim in a variety of ways.
The only thing that parallels his agility, though, is his jumping ability. It’s what led to as many highlight reel dunks as he had highlight reel blocks. Everyone has seen the clips of the dunks and the blocks but what’s just as impressive is the rare times he misses at the rim and can show off his second jump ability.
His basketball IQ is just as elite as anything about him physically. Paired with his physical gifts, there’s little on the basketball court he can’t do. If he sees an opening, whether for himself or for a teammate, he can take advantage of it.
He’s the ultimate teammate, just as willing to set up someone else as he is to score himself. Listen to any interview he did in the wake of him returning to the lineup in the ACC Tournament after his injury you’ll hear him mention how much he wanted to be back on the court with his teammates.
The passion he shows in attempting to win is just as much a positive as it can be a negative at times. He’s an emotional player, which in and of itself is not a fault. He will need to learn to channel that emotion as he grows.
The other large negative surrounding Williamson is his jumper. His form is not pretty and the shot comes out flat with too many changing variables each time. It’ll be the main issue many teams will focus on when looking at future development.
How he fits with the Lakers?
It seems quizzical to ask how Williamson fits with any team. In reality, any team would welcome Williamson with open arms and look to build their team around him.
The Lakers might be the lone exception in the lottery because no other team in the lottery has LeBron James. Williamson has drawn plenty of comparisons to James this season as two of the most physically-dominant prospects in decades.
The problem with the Lakers future and his exact fit is that the Lakers future is anything but clear. Under the offense the team ran last season, Williamson would be a picture-perfect fit with his ability to rebound and push the pace. He’d fit like a glove in an uptempo offense.
The problem is that little is known about the Lakers future from a coaching standpoint. But in terms of the young core, Williamson would be the final piece of an already-talented group. The cherry on top. He’d be yet another piece that could set the Lakers up for the future and the post-James years.
His fit on the court would be clunky at times for a team that already lacked outside shooting. It would put more pressure on finding the right free agent role players to put around the team. But off the court, there may not be a situation in the lottery that would fit him better. James will always be the center of attention no matter what team he’s on and Williamson could sit further away from the spotlight than he would anywhere else.
Certainly, there’s pressure that would come with the No. 1 overall pick. But in the grand scheme of things, he’d be under less pressure than normal. He wouldn’t have the weight of a franchise immediately thrust onto his shoulders. He could sit back and learn from one of the greats.
It’d be a prize the Lakers certainly wouldn’t deserve given the state of their front office and franchise. But as is the case for most of the teams in the lottery. Instead, it would be a piece that would almost certainly assure they wouldn’t return to the lottery for many years to come.
