The historic Zion Williamson's NBA debut
The first official game of the American rookie went great
January 23rd, 2020
The wait for his NBA debut continually postponed due to the injury he suffered last summer had reached unimaginable hype levels, and Zion Williamson did not fail the expectations: on the pitch for only 18 minutes, the new Pelicans player made 22 points (and also 7 rebounds and 3 assists), shining especially from with 3 throws thanks to an unexpected 4/4. We have only seen flashes of his enormous talent, especially given his precarious physical form, which are not been sufficient to avoid the defeat of New Orleans against the San Antonio Spurs.
For the stats' lovers, the performance of the last draft pick number 1 is however already sufficient to establish some huge records: he is the best debut for a player of the franchise, even better than that of Anthony Davis, and his 100% from 3 points is also the best debut ever in the top American league. If in 2016 the American rookie tweeted 'I'm going to shock the world', his first ever match promises very well.
22 PTS
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) January 23, 2020
4/4 3PT
8/11 FG
17-straight points in a span of 3:29 in 4th QTR
Welcome to the @NBA, @Zionwilliamson! pic.twitter.com/s8lRjpUzVH
Zion Williamson: 1 career game, 4 three-pointers
— SportsNation (@SportsNation) January 23, 2020
Ben Simmons: 203 career games, 2 three-pointers pic.twitter.com/vlPiX6TCHs
Zion Williamson in the First 3 quarters vs Zion in the 4th quarter #NBA pic.twitter.com/TKjsyBUPuW
— AJ cfc (@Chels4life1) January 23, 2020
Zion Williamson is the 1st player in @NBAHistory to shoot 4-4 (or better) from 3-point land in a NBA debut. pic.twitter.com/6wj8a2vUON
— NBA.com/Stats (@nbastats) January 23, 2020
Worth the wait! https://t.co/nJfqAbpBgu
— DWade (@DwyaneWade) January 23, 2020
Just take a look on Twitter reactions to realize the impact of the 19 years old Zion Williamson on the NBA scene, and above all how much his landing was expected: the most frequent references are those with Ben Simmons, because of the 3 points percentage, but it's also full of highlights of the super streak of 17 consecutive points scored in 3 minutes and 29 seconds in the 4th quarter. Among the most viral reactions, that of the same age and friend Ja Morant, one of the absolute revelations of the season with the Grizzlies jersey on.
If there was something that has disappointed a little, it's the sneaker chosen for the debut: Zion, who is one of Jordan's flagship testimonials, wore a pair of golden Air Jordan XXXIV "Bayou Boys", clearly inspired by the Louisiana state and decorated with fake crocodile details. On sale only from March.