New Orleans Pelicans: Can Zion Williamson live up to the hype?

Zion Williamson is one of the most highly coveted rookies in NBA history, but can he live up to the hype for the New Orleans Pelicans?

Ever since his high school days, Zion Williamson has been must-see-television because of his captivating play. This desirability transitioned into college where he attended Duke, and once again to the NBA where he went No. 1 overall to the New Orleans Pelicans.

Williamson has not had the traditional rookie campaign, as he missed the start of the 2019-20 season after undergoing surgery to repair a torn meniscus. Before he even suited up for New Orleans, the phenom inked a lucrative seven-year, $75 million shoe deal with Jordan Brand, the biggest deal is the biggest since LeBron James signed with Nike in 2003 for $90 million.

More from Hoops Habit

• 7 Players the Miami Heat might replace Herro with by the trade deadline
• Meet Cooper Flagg: The best American prospect since LeBron James
• Are the Miami Heat laying the groundwork for their next super team?
• Sophomore Jump: 5 second-year NBA players bound to breakout
• NBA Trades: The Lakers bolster their frontcourt in this deal with the Pacers

When Williamson’s long-awaited debut came to fruition in January, the 19-year-old did not disappoint. In 19 games this season, Zion averaged 23.6 points, 6.8 rebounds, and 2.2 assists per game before the NBA suspended play in March. There were even rumblings that Williamson should be the favorite to take home the Rookie of the Year honors if the season got canceled, despite such a small sample size of games.

To the surprise of some, Williamson was recently named the cover athlete for NBA 2K 21 on next-generation consoles PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X despite not even playing a quarter of the season. For reference, LeBron James, arguably the greatest basketball player of all time, graced the illustrious cover in 2014, ten years after his rookie season.

Arguably being the most hyped up player ever coming into the league, can Zion Williamson genuinely live up to it? At the moment, it is hard to bet against him. The injury bug will always pose a question mark with a player of his size, but if he can overcome that, his ceiling is limitless. Making some noise in the NBA’s restart could be very telling for the rookie and his potential.

Currently slated as the 10-seed in the Western Conference, the addition of Williamson to the lineup helped New Orleans gain significant traction towards landing in the postseason. When the NBA resumes on July 30th, the Pelicans will enter their eight seeding games with the easiest strength of schedule out all of 22 teams participating.

It is no secret that everyone is lobbying for a New Orleans Pelicans vs. Los Angeles Lakers first-round matchup to see two heavyweights in Zion Williamson and LeBron James go at it. If the rookie can lead the Pelicans into the postseason, no one would likely give them a chance against the top-heavy Lakers, but even getting into the Playoffs would be significant nonetheless. The Williamson-James matchup was electrifying in both times they faced off this season, and to see what the rookie could do in a postseason atmosphere could be a sign of things to come.

Regardless, Zion Williamson is not a guaranteed star in this league, as crazy as it might sound. Yes, he proved to be one of the most electrifying players in the league in his short stint, but that kind of dominance early in the career is all too familiar.

Players such as Tyreke Evens, Michael Carter-Williams, and O.J. Mayo are all players that peaked in their rookie season, whose success did not carry over throughout their career. This circumstance does not mean that Williamson is doomed to follow a similar fate, but with all of the endorsements, shoe deals, NBA 2K covers, and everything else, the 19-year-old has a significant amount of hype surrounding him.

At the moment, it appears the Williamson will undoubtedly become a solidified star, but anything can happen in the NBA. If the rookie can lead the New Orleans Pelicans into the postseason and possibly even win a game or two, he will undoubtedly jumpstart the process.

All eyes will be on Zion Williamson and the New Orleans Pelicans when they take on the Utah Jazz July 30th, as they try to battle into the postseason. This upcoming eight-game stretch will be very telling for Zion, and thankfully for him, all of the odds are in his favor.