Through his opening weeks of his time in the NBA, Zion Williamson has exceeded even the lofty expectations he set during his breakout performance in the preseason. While his athleticism was never in doubt, Williamson has excelled in nearly every aspect on the court through his first eight games.
After scoring 21 points against Chicago, already his sixth 20-point game of the season, Lonzo Ball talked about Williamson.
“Obviously he is a freak athlete but he’s also very skillful. You can give it to him on the break as well as post-ups, short rolls. He can score in a lot of different ways and that’s why he’s so hard to stop.”
Williamson is averaging 19.8 points per game along with 7.5 rebounds, 2.0 assists all while shooting 57.4% from the field. He’s only attempted nine three-pointers and hasn’t made one since opening night.
His Synergy profile is just as glowing. In his three most common play types – post-ups, cuts and offensive rebound putbacks – Williamson ranks in at least the 73rd percentile in the league.
Obviously, all of this comes with the caveat of it being done in a small sample size. But with it all coming in sustainable situations – as in not as a result of above-average long-distance shooting – it’s hard not to see Williamson not continuing something close to this level of production. His next challenge will be adapting to teams once they get the scouting report on him.
