NBA
#1 – Zion Williamson – New Orleans Pelicans
Jeff Hawkins is an award-winning sportswriter with more than four decades in the industry (print and digital media). A freelance writer/stay-at-home dad since 2008, Hawkins started his career with newspaper stints in Michigan, North Carolina, Florida, Upstate New York and Illinois, where he earned the 2004 APSE first-place award for column writing (under 40,000 circulation). As a beat writer, he covered NASCAR Winston Cup events at NHIS (1999-2003), the NHL's Chicago Blackhawks (2003-06) and the NFL's Carolina Panthers (2011-12). Hawkins penned four youth sports books, including a Michael Jordan biography. Hawkins' main hobbies include mountain bike riding, 5k trail runs at the Whitewater Center in Charlotte, N.C., and live music.
All posts by Jeff HawkinsUpdated15 Oct 2021
This pick was essentially cemented back in December after teams got a small sampling of what Zion Williamson was about. He is an absolute unit of athleticism, standing at 6-foot-6 and weighing in at 285 pounds. When considering his sheer size, the NBA likely has never seen a player quite like Williamson.
His ability to elevate allowed him to throw down dunks not yet seen on the college stage. Williamson’s speed affords him to guard multiple positions on the defensive end. His finishing ability — although not perfect — is light-years ahead of players his age. His three-point shooting could certainly improve, but he still hit 33.8 percent of shots from deep while attempting over two a game.
His fit with the Pelicans will be flawless — just like it would’ve been with any team lucky enough to draft him. You can plug him in the three or four for instant success, but his ability to handle the two or even the one can certainly develop over time given his intangibles.
New Orleans could be considered the luckiest team in NBA history considering how unlikely they were to draft first overall. And the fact that they were able to draft first overall the year a player like Zion became available is definitely special. If all goes as planned, Williamson should be a lock for Rookie of the Year.
