By Tyler Banks

After the trade of Anthony Davis to the Los Angeles Lakers, many NBA fans thought that the Pelicans had no chance of ever competing for an NBA title again. 

Despite receiving some young players, like Lonzo Ball and Brandon Ingram in exchange, nobody had faith in the Pelicans. Davis was essentially the Pelicans’ franchise cornerstone and, without him, they seemed worthless. 

However, the beauty of the NBA is that despite a teams’ struggle to succeed throughout the season, the opportunity to strike gold in the NBA Draft is always on the horizon. 

In the Draft, teams take a chance on the players of their choice. They come from all walks of life—some have already played professionally overseas, others are college students—in order to help their franchise become championship contenders. This year’s Draft was particularly promising, featuring some of the most hyped-up prospects that fans have seen in years. Zion Williamson, a 19-year-old Basketball aficionado, was at the forefront.

The Prospect

Zion has had hundreds of cameras pointed at him since he was 16 years old and that number has only gone up as he went through college. While at Duke, he wowed fans with his electrifying athleticism, winning the player of the year award for his dominating performance throughout the season which greatly increased his draft stock. This ultimately led to him getting picked first overall at the 2019 NBA Draft by the Pelicans.

Finally, his dream was achieved, he became an NBA player. But then, a hurdle presented itself, even before Zion could step onto the court. Late last summer, Zion tore his MCL, which is the type of injury that can end professional sports careers and, if not, tends to diminish a player’s explosiveness on the court. Fans were afraid that this would be the end of him.

The Return

Finally, after waiting for almost half of the season, the New Orleans Pelicans number one draft pick, Zion Williamson finally made his NBA debut last night against the San Antonio Spurs. Many fans weren’t sure if he could live up to the hype, especially after tearing his MCL, but he undoubtedly proved them wrong. 

The 19-year-old rookie scored 22 points, on an efficient 8/11 from the field, not to mention he went 4 for 4 from downtown, despite one of his perceived weaknesses being that he’s not a shooter. He also grabbed 7 rebounds and passed out 3 assists, but the most insane part was that this was all done in a matter of 18 minutes on the floor. This type of production is unprecedented by a mere rookie let alone in, his first game.

Now, unfortunately, his team was not able to come up with the win against Spurs, but Pelicans fans most certainly have something to look forward to in the form of their powerful young core of Lonzo Ball, Brandon Williams, and now, Zion Williamson.