Remember the days when Zion Williamson was drawing hype comparisons to NBA legends like Michael Jordan? Well, he’s starting to live up to the lofty expectations.
Williamson, who’s in his second season with the New Orleans Pelicans, is having a terrific year. The dominant forward is dropping 26.9 points per game to go along with 7.2 rebounds and 3.6 assists so far this season.
No, Williamson isn’t Jordan, but they do share two things in common. First, Williamson is an explosive dunker with insane hang time (just like Jordan). Second, the two are the only NBA players in the last 40 years to score 2,000 career points within their first 80 professional games.
Williamson accomplished the feat in just 79 career games. Jordan did it in 73 games. Just 12 players in NBA history have reached the significant milestone, including the likes of other NBA legends Wilt Chamberlain, Oscar Robertson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and several others.
Tonight, Zion Williamson joined Michael Jordan as the only players in the last 40 seasons to reach 2,000 points in their first 80 career games.
From @EliasSports: Here’s the rest of the list of players who made it to 2,000 before Game 80. pic.twitter.com/31irG0eG1Q
— Andrew Lopez (@_Andrew_Lopez) April 25, 2021
It’s worth mentioning all but one of the players to score 2,000 career points in their first 80 career games made the Hall of Fame. It’s safe to say Zion Williamson is in good company.
Despite Williamson’s terrific play this season, the Pelicans are in trouble. They’re 26-33 this season, good for 11th in the Western Conference and 3.5 games behind the San Antonio Spurs, the 10th-place team. New Orleans will have to make a run down the stretch of the regular-season to reach the play-in tournament.
Regardless, the Pelicans’ future is bright. Williamson is getting better by the month, and he’s surrounded by a solid young core.
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