Zion Williamson is one of the most exciting basketball players the world has ever seen with his elite jumping ability down to his physical frame with uncanny slashing ability. But there is more than meets the eye. Yes, he can jump, yes, he can run and show the world crazy dunk after crazy dunk, but what about his skill?
Williamson has a very unorthodox shot which would explain why his percentages are so subpar. He currently shoots 27.3 percent from 3 and 70 percent from the free-throw line. He reminds me of a mix of Chris Webber and Draymond Green. Tough defender, very athletic, extreme competitor, high basketball IQ with great playmaking ability, but with a limited scoring ability other than slashing. Zion’s potential is through the roof, but what is having a crazy amount of potential if you don’t develop? Looking forward, how will his game translate to the NBA? Zion is 6’7 with superior athletic ability, so maybe he can play a stretch-four role, well in order to do that you have to be able to shoot and at 27.3 percent just won’t cut it, many NBA teams will guard him well under the 3-point line. Let’s try and put him on the wing maybe he will have some success there. We have seen guys that aren’t used to guarding perimeter players nor being featured as ball dominant player expected to play the 2 wing positions.
For example, Tobias Harris, Anthony Bennett, and Thaddeus Young, all of these guys are skilled for their size and can put the ball on the floor but what makes them unique offensively is that when placed at the 4 position, they were skilled enough to create their own shot or were more athletic than a traditional 4; which allowed them to blow by defenders. When their teams put them on the wing, they were less affective, and struggled to get shots off and guard their position. Zion’s offensive skillset is very predictable, he likes to overpower smaller defenders and outjump them. In the NBA things won’t come that easy, his game will be scouted and evaluated differently and players in the league will be more suited to guard him physically and athletically.
For Zion to be more effective as a NBA player he needs to develop a better handle and jump-shot. Going forward if I was his trainer, I’d want him to lose weight, at one point he was 285 pounds. If he loses weight and becomes more creative with the ball in his hands, he could become very similar to Josh Smith. In college at the moment he is dominating, averaging 21.4 PPG, 9.4 RPG, while averaging 2 steals and blocks per game. Williamson is a unique talent and could easily become the next big thing, but if he isn’t developed right, he might only be remembered as a Twitter sensation.
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