With the playoffs closing in, Zion Williamson’s time to shine draws near

As the NBA inches closer to its return date, Zion Williamson is in a perfect position to solidify himself as the next face of the league.

After an excruciatingly long hiatus at the hands of COVID-19, the NBA will make its heavily anticipated return to our TV screens in just three short weeks. Though with excitement understandably continuing to build, the NBA’s return remains marred by uncertainty.

Is the bubble safe? How many players will attend? Will the NBA experience a dreaded spike in cases? What happens if they do? As far as basketball goes, will the new format work? What teams are best suited for this situation? Will LeBron James win his fourth ring? Will Giannis Antetokounmpo win his first? Is James Harden going to choke aga—sorry.

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There is a head-spinning number of unanswerable questions that we will not have an answer for until play resumes. When the NBA does come back into our lives, though, one thing is certain: We want to see as much Zion Williamson as humanly possible.

Due in part to a lingering knee injury that sidelined Zion until January, the New Orleans Pelicans struggled to find a collective rhythm to begin the 2019-20 campaign. Despite Jrue Holiday being the most underrated player in the league and Brandon Ingram embracing his new-found role as the focal point of an NBA offense, newcomers like Lonzo Ball, Josh Hart, and Jaxson Hayes failed to step up in their new threads. En route to a 17-27 start to the season, the previously hyped Pelicans quickly became an afterthought in the convoluted Western Conference.

Following Zion’s January 22nd debut, however, the youthful Pelicans began to grow their wings.

Over the Pels’ next 20 games (and before the coronavirus single-handedly shut down the entire planet), the team amassed an 11-9 record and began to show tremendous promise. Zion played in 19 of those 20 contests, in which the Duke product averaged 23.6 points per game on a blistering 58.9 percent from the field. For a rookie, his rebounding totals were quite impressive as well, averaging 2.9 offensive and 3.9 defensives boards a night.

Zion also showed encouraging playmaking skills. While only averaging 2.2 assists per game, Williamson displayed a keen sense for finding the open man and making the right play at the right time—a required characteristic if you mean to be one of the best players in basketball.

Most impressively, however, were Zion’s on-court plus/minus numbers. Though plus/minus averages tend to be somewhat misleading, Zion was a net-negative in only four of his 19 contests. In those four outings, the Pelicans played the Thunder, the Bucks, and twice against the Lakers. The Bucks and the Lakers are the two best teams in professional basketball, but for those not keeping score at home, the Thunder hold the league’s third-best record since Zion’s return (15-5). Aside from those contests, Zion has dominated his opposition with a +10.2 average plus/minus when he is on the floor.

Yet while his statistics have been remarkable—look at the per-36 numbers—it is Zion’s infectious energy that completely turned his team around. From an optical perspective, Williamson was the galvanizing force the Pelicans needed to push them into the NBA’s upper echelon. The before-and-after team statistics only further emphasize that notion.

Since Zion’s debut, the Pelicans lead the NBA in both points and assists per game. Per NBA Stats, the team is also in the top-11 in offensive rating, top-eight in defensive rating, top-six in field-goal percentage, top-two in offensive rebounds and total rebounds, and are the third-fastest team in the entire league. Before Zion? The Pelicans were fifth in scoring, eighth in assists, 11th in rebounding, 18th in field-goal percentage, 18th in offensive rating, 26th in defensive rating, and sixth in pace.

Most importantly, the Pelicans have the 10th-best record in the league since Williamson’s first professional appearance. As opposed to their previous 10th-worst record before he stepped into Alvin Gentry’s lineup, the team has experienced tremendous growth. So, yeah, Zion Williamson is pretty good at basketball.

And now, fortunately for us viewers, we have an opportunity to experience his transcendent talents on a stage the likes the NBA has never seen before.

The way the Western Conference currently stands, both the Pelicans and the Portland Trail Blazers are 3.5 games back of the eighth-seeded Memphis Grizzlies. Under the NBA’s new format, the Pelicans will have eight games to wedge themselves into sole ownership of the ninth spot, which would boot Portland out of a potential play-in series against Memphis.

With games yet to play, we cannot view New Orleans climbing their way into the eighth or ninth spot as a foregone conclusion. However, when one considers how much easier the Pelicans’ remaining schedule is than the roads Portland and Memphis find themselves on, this possibility becomes all the more likely.

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If Zion Williamson and the Pels manage to cement themselves into that ninth spot while staying within four games of the eight-seed, they will enter a brief play-in series with that eighth-seeded team (Ja Morant versus Zion Williamson, anyone?). In this series, New Orleans would need to win two consecutive games to lay claim to the final Western Conference playoff spot. Under those circumstances—and with all due respect to the Ja Morant’s and the Damian Lillard’s of the world—my money is on Zion.

Barring an improbable stumble by the top-seeded Los Angeles Lakers, a would-be playoff berth would also result in possibly the most anticipated first-round matchup of all-time. Do yourself a favor and try to think of a more entertaining first-round series than the Pelicans and the Lakers. The future face of the league in Zion going toe-to-toe with the 15-year face of the league in LeBron? Inject that into my veins right now.

Though highly unlikely for the Pelicans to upset any of their top-tier Western Conference foes, a playoff series of this stature would bode well for Zion and his supporting cast. Former young teams like the Golden State Warriors found themselves in similar series’ before they began their dynasty. While I am not comparing the Pelicans to one of the greatest teams ever assembled, the surface-level similarities remain.

One cannot overlook the value of playoff experience, and with this series, Williamson would be getting his first real taste of meaningful NBA basketball. If a motivated Zion isn’t enough to make the rest of the league tremble in trepidation, I’m not quite sure what is.

Having only turned 20 this past weekend, Zion Williamson has many more electrifying years ahead of him. Even more incredibly, having only played in 19 professional games, he hasn’t even scratched the surface of how great he can become. With his talents, he need only reach out and take what he wants.

The NBA’s long-awaited return will be his first real challenge. The spotlight will be brighter than ever before, and all there is to do is anxiously sit on pins and needles to see what Williamson does next.

It’s Zion’s time to shine, and oh, man, am I excited.