16. Zion Williams, PF, New Orleans Pelicans – Defensive effort
The New Orleans Pelicans hit a home run when they won the first overall pick in the 2019 NBA Draft, but even they couldn’t have expected the incredible athletic marvel that is Zion Williamson. Last season he was unleashed as a ball-handling freight train that defenses are powerless to stop.
He averaged 27 points and shot 61.1 percent from the field. Of every player in NBA history to shoot at least 61 percent from the field, no one even comes close to matching Zion’s 27 points per game (Wilt Chamberlain is second with 24.1 points per game).
Where can Williamson improve? The answer is clearly on the other end of the court. In college at Duke Williamson was leaping all over the court, jumping passing lanes, blocking shots and terrorizing opposing players. The Blue Devils uncorked a full-court press at times with Tre Jones and Cam Reddish pressuring ball-handlers and Zion lurking to pick off the pass, and came back from massive deficits because of it.
That defensive impact and defensive effort are completely gone. Williamson exists on defense but his feet seem to be encased in concrete. He doesn’t go up for blocks (just 0.6 blocks per game last season) and opponents waltz right past him. Whether it is conditioning or mental fatigue, the Pelicans will need Williamson to increase his defensive effort in order to rack up the wins necessary to make the play-in tournament.