Zion Williamson made his NBA regular-season debut Wednesday night as the Pelicans faced the Spurs in New Orleans.
Early on he got off to a slow start, ESPN’s Mark Jackson questioned his weight issues, and his short spurts of playing time never really let him get into any type of rhythm.
And then, wow, the fourth quarter happened and we were all reminded that yes, Zion is going to be a great NBA player.
Zion scored 17 straight points in the fourth quarter in all different ways. He hit four 3-pointers (for those questioning his range), he had a sweet alley-oop layup, and had the Smoothie King Center absolutely rocking in New Orleans.
He then came out with five minutes to go and the Pelicans lost the game, but this was a win for their future.
Zion finished with 22 points and 7 rebounds in 18 minutes.
Zion Williamson scored 17 straight points for the Pelicans in a span of 3:29 in the 4th quarter.
It's tied for the most points in a quarter in a player's 1st career game over the last 20 seasons. pic.twitter.com/HPhFsqpRqT
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) January 23, 2020
Here’s some highlights of his scoring spree:
ZION WENT OFF đł
17 points and 4/4 from deep in 3 minutes pic.twitter.com/CfYklzb2Bv
— ESPN (@espn) January 23, 2020
He already has more career 3-pointers than another first-round pick:
ben simmons: 2 three-point makes in 6,982 minutes
zion williamson: 4 three-point makes in 18 minutes
— Matt Ellentuck (@mellentuck) January 23, 2020
Fans chanted MVP! MVP! at Zion:
Zion already getting MVP chants from Pelicans fans.
This is wild.
(via @PelicansNBA) pic.twitter.com/RwQT424wi1
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) January 23, 2020
And his parents loved it:
Proud parents watching Zion BALL OUT âźď¸ pic.twitter.com/FYljlQtlcK
— New Orleans Pelicans (@PelicansNBA) January 23, 2020
That was fun.