‘One Of One’: Kevin Durant Offers Incredible Zion Williamson Insight

Zion Williamson, New Orleans Pelicans, NBA, Kevin Durant, Brooklyn Nets
NBA Analysis Network

Some people believe the New Orleans Pelicans will take a major step this season. After winning two games in the NBA Play-In Tournament to earn the No. 8 seed in the Western Conference playoffs last season, this is a team that possesses a lot of positive momentum.

While there were a few major moves made this offseason, the Pelicans could be getting the biggest upgrade for the 2022-23 campaign with Zion Williamson healthy and in the lineup.

Williamson missed the entire previous season as he dealt with a foot injury, but he was back on the court ready to go for the season opener.

He helped New Orleans thrash the Brooklyn Nets, 130-108. The former No. 1 overall pick scored 25 points to go with nine rebounds, three assists and four steals in 30 minutes. That’s quite a performance for someone who hasn’t played since May 4th, 2021.

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There was a lot of excitement heading into the night as people wanted to see Williamson back on the court. Even his peers he was playing against felt that way. Before facing off with the Pelicans, Kevin Durant shared what he was feeling about Williamson being back.

“Excitement,” Durant said of Williamson being back on the floor. “Athleticism. Somebody that can put up points pretty fast. It’s a matchup problem for a lot of people, so we got our work cut out [with] him, and then you got two other scorers behind him [in Brandon Ingram and CJ McCollum] that can score from all levels. So we got our work cut out for us, but it’s going to be exciting times when guys get healthy, especially the marquee guys in this league.”

Durant sure would have preferred Williamson and the Pelicans not done everything he described against his team, but that goes to show the respect that New Orleans is garnering around the league. This is a dangerous team with a strong Big 3 of Williamson, Brandon Ingram and CJ McCollum with an excellent supporting cast.

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The former MVP continued praising Williamson’s ability, as he is impressed with the combination of athleticism and bruising power that someone his size possesses.

“You’ve seen guys at that size, 6-7, that can get up and down the floor and move, but not at that level, though,” Durant said after Monday’s practice. “You’ve seen guys like Jason Maxiell, I’m not saying they jump as high as Zion, but they were undersized guys that played bigger. And Zion’s one of those guys. Rodney Rogers — I’m missing so many guys that were that tall at 6-6, Charles Barkley bruiser-type guys but played bigger. But Zion’s athleticism trumps all of theirs by far. And when you add that to the mix, it makes him a one-of-one.”

One-of-one is certainly correct. There isn’t another player in the NBA that is built like Williamson, who is among the heaviest players in the league while being near the top of the athleticism charts as well.

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Health was the only true red flag when it came to Williamson. As long as he is able to stay on the court, you know the production is going to be there.

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