Los Angeles Lakers: 4 Lessons from win over New Orleans Pelicans

Zion Williamson is the first NBA rookie to live up to the hype this early in his career since LeBron James! 

When Michael Jordan retired the first time in the 90’s the NBA struggled to figure out who the next superstar would be to carry the NBA.  Come to think of it, the same issues arose at times the second time he retired too.

When LeBron James retires from the NBA, don’t worry, it’ll be okay. We all have Zion Williamson. This dude right here is only 19 years old, but he has a grown man’s body with power of a super hero. Think this a joke?

The man just snatched a rebound out the air from Dwight Howard. Plays like this here shouldn’t happen. Not Dwight failing to box out, but a 6’6″ 285 pond guy jumping so high with force.

This guy is as advertised, let’s all pray for good health and a long career because this man will make the NBA and it’s fans happy for years to come. You can believe that.

Zion Williamson finished with 29 points and six rebounds (2 offensive!), 3 assists and a steal in his first showdown with LeBron James and the guy he replaced as the Pelicans’ superstar of the future, Anthony Davis. After missing a couple of shots early, he got untracked on the fast break. After that it was on.

His performance wasn’t lost on LeBron James who praised the rookie after the game via ESPN.

"“He’s playing exceptional basketball,” James said. “I think his game is going to get better and better, just having that experience. I think today’s game is the perfect fit for his game. The high pace, the way they play, it fits his game. … It works perfectly, and our game is so many possessions now, so much space, it’s perfect for his game, so he’s doing exceptionally well with that.”"

He deserved the praise. Zion took on the challenge of driving the ball at Anthony Davis with some success. Considering his teammates looked scared to death missing layups, Zion used his strength and athletic ability to body AD to get to the basket.

Plus he got to the free throw line a whole lot. He went to the line 19 times showing aggressiveness and not being afraid of the moment. Last night was Zion’s 13th NBA game back from injury. He has now scored at least 20 points for the ninth consecutive time.

But Zion is the future, let’s talk about the present. Besides this is a Los Angeles Lakers website. Wooooooo!