Who is Zion Williamson?

Zion Lateef Williamson is one of the most talented basketball players of the current generation and has been showing his impressive athletic prowess with the New Orleans Pelicans in the NBA since 2019. The American athlete was born on 6 July 2000 in the small town of Salisbury in the state of North Carolina and is a real beast on the court.

Zion was born to Lateef Williamson and Sharonda Sampson, with his name inspired by the biblical Mount Zion in Jerusalem. Throughout his childhood, he played a whole range of different sports, including football and American football, but ultimately his path led him to basketball. His athletic talent was already evident during his time in secondary school and the young athlete averaged 20 points per game at Johnakin Middle School in Marion. But after enrolling at Spartanburg Day School just before ninth grade, Zion really turned up his performance. In his freshman year alone, he averaged 24.4 points, 9.4 rebounds, 2.8 assists, 3.3 steals and 3.0 blocks. His performances improved from year to year and the exceptional talent even won three national championship titles in a row. At his best, Zion averaged 26.8 points and 13 rebounds. 

Zion Williamson plays power forward for the New Orleans Pelicans and more than fulfils his duties. Despite his immense mass, the 1.98m tall and 129kg player impresses with his impressive explosiveness and athleticism. His body weight in no way prevents the young superstar from landing brutal dunks and running fast breaks. Williamson is truly a mountain of a man, and his defenders are regularly made aware of this.

In 2018, Zion enrolled at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina, and played in the first college league under the guidance of coach Mike Krzyzewski. The athlete showed his immense potential in his very first game, scoring 28 points in just 23 minutes with an extremely high shooting percentage. The following year, Zion led Duke University to the Atlantic Coast Conference title with a commanding 73-63 win over Florida State University. The up-and-coming athlete put up 21 points, 5 rebounds and 2 assists in the final game and was also voted MVP of the final tournament. Even before he joined the NBA, countless mixtapes of Williamson were circulating on social media, showcasing him and his incredible performances. These put Zion on the radar of countless fans and, more importantly, NBA scouts.

Due to his impressive performances for Duke University, Zion Williamson was the best candidate for the first pick in the 2019 NBA Draft according to experts. Once again, the experts were right and the New Orleans Pelicans secured the rights to the promising power forward with the first pick. At the time, the first pick in the draft was considered by many to be the most promising talent since LeBron James, which is a huge compliment.

Zion was able to play in four games during the pre-season with solid stats, but unfortunately he tore his meniscus shortly before the start of the season and missed 44 games with the Pelicans due to injury. His actual debut did not come until the following year, when he scored 22 points against the San Antonio Spurs on 22 January 2020. Over the course of the rest of the season, Zion put in some solid performances and was a real asset to the team in many aspects of the game. Unfortunately, injury continued to haunt Williamson, which is why he had to announce a month before the start of the 2021/2022 season that he had broken his foot and would have to undergo surgery. The unfortunate incident meant that the up-and-coming athlete had to sit out the entire season. Despite his injury-plagued NBA career to date, Zion nevertheless signed a multi-year contract with the Pelicans in July 2022. 

In July 2019, Zion signed a contract with Jordan Brand and released a variety of player-exclusive colourways over the course of time. But the superstar didn't have to do without his very own signature sneaker either, as the two partners soon designed the Jordan Zion 1. The basketball shoe was crowned with great success, whereupon the series was continued and the Jordan Zion 2 and Jordan Zion 3 are now available in numerous colour combinations.