Ahead of his season-opening matchup against the New Orleans Pelicans, superstar Nets forward Kevin Durant struggled to find an apples-to-apples comparison for Pelicans forward Zion Williamson.
Because there may not be one.
“I mean you’ve seen guys that size, 6-foot-7, that can get up and down the floor and that can move, but not at that level though,” Durant said after Monday’s practice at the HSS Training Facility in Industry City. “You’ve seen guys like Jason Maxiell and I’m forgetting some of them. I’m not saying they jump as high as Zion, but they were undersized guys that played bigger. Zion’s one of those guys.
“I’m missing so many guys. Rodney Rogers, tall, 6-foot-6, Charles Barkley bruiser-type guys, but plays bigger. But Zion’s athleticism trumps all of theirs by far, and when you add that to the mix, that makes him a one-of-one.”
Williamson, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2019 NBA Draft, did not play at all for the Pelicans last season due to a broken foot but is known for his virtually never before seen blend of brute strength, speed, hops and court vision. He averaged 22.5 points his rookie season and 27 points in Year 2 before sustaining his foot injury.
Williamson’s yearlong absence – coupled with his fluctuations in body weight – makes the Pelicans difficult to scout. While he was out, New Orleans acquired Portland’s gifted scorer C.J. McCollum and have formed a Big Three with Williamson, McCollum and All-Star forward Brandon Ingram.
And now Williamson returns to the Pelicans in the best shape he’s been in since entering the league.
“I guess there is some trickiness to it about which Zion do you get?” head coach Steve Nash said. “But I think you’d be foolish not to expect an exceptional player. He’s so talented and gifted, he causes problems for everybody no matter what state his body and game is in. He’s still such a unique athlete and player. So we’ve got to be prepared. We can’t expect anything less than his best (because we can’t afford) to be surprised. When you’re reactive, you’re in trouble.”
Starting center Nic Claxton is from South Carolina, Williamson’s home state, and said the two were supposed to play on the same AAU team one year – along with Memphis’ All-Star guard Ja Morant – but that the team didn’t come together because Williamson wanted to play on an AAU team that didn’t have a shoe deal.
Claxton said he’s excited to play against Williamson and that his Pelicans are a talented team, “but we’ll be ready for them.”
Durant said the season-opener against Williamson’s Pelicans will be a difficult game for the team to win.
“We know those players (Williamson, McCollum and Ingram) individually,” he said. “Willie (Green) is an amazing coach, teacher of the game, good person that the young guys can resonate with, so you know they’re going to play hard for him. So when you’ve got that much talent, you can pretty much be versatile with your group. And we’ll see what happens on Wednesday and we’re looking forward to a tough game.”
