Zion Williamson: Why signing with Jordan Brand makes sense
By Eliot Clough
2. Zion wants to compete with LeBron
With every high school phenom rising through the ranks of elite level athletes at such a young age, we, the media, love to dub him or her as “The next LeBron James,” whether it’s fair or not.
Due to the YouTube sensation Zion Williamson became while attending Spartanburg Day School and playing on the AAU circuit with his high-flying dunks and swatting shots that were above the height of the rim, the comparisons came quite quickly.
While we haven’t seen what Williamson can do on an NBA stage yet, his college play has got the attention of the nation and James himself.
James told ESPN in February:
"“What strikes me? His agility and his quickness. For his size, how strong he is, to be able to move like the way he moves, he’s very impressive. I mean, everybody can see the athleticism. That’s obviously, that’s ridiculous. But the speed and the quickness that he moves [with] at that size is very impressive.”"
And despite the mild-mannered personality Williamson carries with him off the court, one has to imagine that to be as successful as he wants to be, something has to provide motivation for the first overall pick. Exceeding the comparisons to James may be one of those motives.
To begin his pursuit of James, signing with the same company isn’t a bad start.