Zion Williamson plays with force and ferocity, a Hulk in high-tops who looks like he’d never show a soft side.
Draft night proved otherwise.
Williamson was the No. 1 pick of the New Orleans Pelicans – a surprise to nobody who watched college basketball this past season. But afterward, he couldn’t hide his emotions, even though he along with everyone else knew what would happen on Thursday night.
“Because I love the game of basketball,” he said. “You can hear people say things like, ‘Oh, that it was likely I was going to go No. 1.’ But I guess you don’t know until you actually go through it. Hearing my name called and I was able to make it on stage without a tear, shake the commissioner’s hand, but in the interview my mom was standing beside me, and my emotions just took over.”
There might be tears of joy in New Orleans, too, after the Pelicans were able to get the Duke powerhouse who is considered one of the most exciting prospects in years.
The 6-foot-7, 285-pounder compiled a career worth of highlights into just one season, becoming the third freshman to be voted player of the year by The Associated Press.
His assault on the rim made him a favourite of college basketball fans, but his game is more than just dunks. Williamson averaged 22.6 points and 8.9 rebounds while shooting 68 per cent from the field.
Wearing a white suit, he hugged members of his family and NBA commissioner Adam Silver after his name was called first at Barclays Center.
Williamson will step into an open position in New Orleans, which recently agreed to trade all-star Anthony Davis, the most recent freshman to win the AP award, to the Los Angeles Lakers.
“I’m going to do anything to win. I’m just going to do anything to win,” Williamson said.
The Memphis Grizzlies also quickly addressed a positional need by taking Murray State’s Ja Morant with the No. 2 pick. The Grizzlies agreed to trade Mike Conley, their long-time point guard, to Utah a day earlier.
They got a good replacement in Morant, who led the NCAA’s top division with 10 assists a game as a sophomore while averaging 24.5 points.
“I have some big shoes to fill in Mike Conley,” Morant said. “He’s a great player. I wish him the best. Like I said before, it just means the Grizzlies see a lot in me.”
RJ Barrett then made it two Duke freshmen within the first three picks when the New York Knicks took the guard who actually edged out Williamson to lead the Atlantic Coast Conference in scoring. Knicks fans hoped they would get Williamson after finishing with the worst record in the league, but seemed happy to end up with Barrett, loudly cheering and chanting “RJ! RJ!” when the pick was announced.
Barrett was also in tears after landing with the team he said he hoped would pick him.
“I just can’t tell you how excited we are to be able to land RJ Barrett and add him to the New York Knicks,” Knicks general manager Scott Perry said in a conference call with reporters a few minutes after the selection was made. “We love a lot of things about this young man, starting with his tremendous competitive level; his desire to want to be great as a basketball player. He’s highly accomplished. He had a tremendous freshman season here at Duke.”
Barrett led the Atlantic Coast Conference in scoring at 22.8 points a game despite somewhat being overshadowed Williamson. Barrett finished second behind his flashier teammate for ACC Player of the Year, and ACC Rookie of the Year. Both were named to the all-ACC first team, and the conference’s all-freshman team.
The 6-foot-7, 202-pounder from Mississauga had been linked to the Knicks almost immediately after it was revealed at the draft lottery on May 14 that New York had the third pick.
De’Andre Hunter of national champion Virginia was taken fourth, but won’t be teaming up with Williamson. The Pelicans acquired the rights to the pick in the Davis deal but agreed to trade it shortly before the draft to Atlanta. The original trade can’t be official until July 6, so Hunter was outfitted with a Lakers hat and the draft board behind the stage listed the pick as belonging to the Lakers.
The Cleveland Cavaliers then took Vanderbilt guard Darius Garland, who played in just five games because of a knee injury.
Then it was another pick who won’t be playing for the team that made it, with Jarrett Culver taken at No. 6 by Phoenix with a pick that the Suns agreed to trade to Minnesota.