Prodigy Zion Williamson Makes An Explosive NBA Debut After Slow Start For New Orleans Pelicans

Williamson was the overall No.1 draft pick and the 19-year-old rookie, who stands 6-foot-6, and weighs 285-pound, is already comparted to the great Lebron James, the best basketball player of this era

Written by: India.com Sports Desk Edited by: Vineet Ramakrishnan

Updated: January 23, 2020, 11:53 AM IST

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Zion Williamson in Action (NBA Photo)

The once-in-a-generation talent Zion Williamson may have looked out of sorts in his much-awaited NBA debut in the first three quarters for the New Orlean Pelicans against San Antonio Spurs, but he made an explosive impact in the final quarter scored 17 straight fourth quarter points — including four three-pointers to end with a respectable 22 points for the game, even though Pelicans fell to Spurs 121-117.

Why the big hype around Williamson you ask? Well, he was the overall No.1 draft pick and the 19-year-old rookie, who stands 6-foot-6, and weighs 285-pound, is already comparted to the great Lebron James, the best basketball player of this era.

No. 1 overall draft pick @Zionwilliamson goes for 22 PTS (4-4 3PM), including 17 straight 4th quarter points, in his NBA debut for the @PelicansNBA! #NBARooks x #WontBowDown pic.twitter.com/WrcChMAWSe

— NBA (@NBA) January 23, 2020

Williamson became popular after his videos of huge dunks went viral when was he was in college. In his only season, his starting season, with the Dukem, he averaging 22.6 points to go with nearly nine rebounds and nearly two blocks per game.

He drew crowds during Pelicans’ Las Vegas Summer League opener but was injured with a bruised knee, making his NBA debut today all the more riveting. Even before playing in the NBA Williamson has also been compared to the legendary Charles Barkley, who similar to Williamson does not possess the insane height other NBA stars have, but is a very strong and physically imposing player, just like Barkley was.

In four pre-season games, Williamson averaged 23.3 points and 6.5 rebounds before being sidelined to have surgery on Oct. 21, the day before the regular-season opener.