Projected 2019 NBA Draft top pick Zion Williamson is not the next LeBron James but that doesn’t mean he can’t change a franchise
Duke University basketball star Zion Williamson is a great college basketball player. He could win the ACC Player of the Year and multiple National Player of the Year awards as a freshman. He, along with R.J. Barrett, could lead Duke to the Final Four and possibly a national championship as freshmen just like the 10-time All-Star Carmelo Anthony did in 2003 at Syracuse.
Currently Williamson is averaging 20.8 points and 8.8 rebounds a game for the third ranked Blue Devils, but could easily be averaging over 25 points a game.
Williamson is the closest thing we have seen to an unstoppable college basketball player in awhile. He is no Lew Alcindor at UCLA or Patrick Ewing at Georgetown, but he is a fun to watch high-flying NBA level talent dominating against many players who will not be future NBA players.
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Over the last few weeks, many have compared Williamson to NBA players like Shawn Kemp and LeBron James. Now the Shawn Kemp comparison is fair. Kemp was an undersized high-flying dunker just like Williamson, but to me, Williamson can be better than Kemp. He can be a franchise player who can end his career with multiple first team All-NBA awards and an NBA championship, but I can also see him as a player who will struggle with his weight and never live up to his potential. I can see NBA teams having a difficult time choosing a position for him to play as well.
The one thing I can’t see is Williamson becoming the next LeBron James. Do not get me wrong, I can see Williamson becoming the best or second best player in the NBA, but I do not see him being considered the best player in the league for over a decade. I do not see Williamson winning four MVPs and being able to play the point guard position like LeBron.
We must remember that James can make an average team look great or at least like a top team in the league. For those who might say look at the Lakers; I say wait until May and see if the Lakeshow can make it to the Western Conference Finals before speaking.
My prediction is Williamson will be a good to great player in the NBA, but he will not be the next LeBron James. He will be the first and only Zion Williamson; a high-flying dunker who can do a little of everything, but will be doing it against bigger, taller and faster much talented NBA players who will try to bring it to him every night after reading a scouting report on how to stop him.