“He should be able to dunk, that’s like saying, ‘Oh, man, you see that catch Cooper Kupp made?’” - Shannon Sharpe unimpressed by Zion Williamson’s 360 windmill dunk
Zion Williamson is still working his way back from injury, but the New Orleans Pelicans star is dunking during practice. Even so, Shannon Sharpe is unimpressed by the performance.
With the Pelicans preparing to face the LA Clippers for the final playoff spot in the Western Conference, many fans want Williamson to return.
Williamson is showing signs of being closer to a return, including throwing down a 360-degree windmill dunk on Wednesday. The Pels beat the San Antonio Spurs 113-103 on Wednesday.
While many were impressed by the dunk, Sharpe was not one of them. The FS1 analyst spoke about the dunk on "Skip and Shannon: Undisputed."
"I'm unimpressed by this. He's a 6'6" NBA basketball player, he should be able to dunk. That's like saying: 'oh man, you see that catch Cooper Kupp made?'"
@ShannonSharpe on Zion Williamson's 360 windmill https://t.co/RRoHOzlvtP
While Sharpe is correct that a 6-foot-6 basketball player should be able to dunk, he undersells what happened in the video.
First, Sharpe needs to account for the issue that it was not a traditional dunk. Williamson was able to explode well enough to complete a 360-degree windmill motion before landing the dunk with room to spare.
Given that a windmill would have been one of the better dunks in the 2022 NBA Slam Dunk Contest, the dunk is impressive by current dunk standards.
Second, for a player returning from a foot injury, the ability to jump high enough and stay in the air long enough to complete a windmill dunk is noteworthy for Sharpe's analysis.
Still, Williamson will need to do more to prove to the Pelicans he is ready to return.
Zion Williamson's future with the New Orleans Pelicans is murky, despite Shannon Sharpe's criticism.
Shannon Sharpe's critique of Zion Williamson's dunk is part of a series of issues surrounding the Pelicans' star forward. Williamson has been hurt and attempting a return for the entire season.
If Williamson cannot return for the play-in game against the LA Clippers on Friday and the Pelicans lose, he will have missed the entire season.
Even if the Pelicans can beat the Clippers and make the last playoff spot in the Western Conference, there's no guarantee the superstar will return in the first round.
.@CassidyHubbarth reports on ESPN that a return to play for Zion Williamson is not imminent.
"There's no chance we could see him in a possible matchup against the Clippers, let alone a series against the Suns."
Williamson's camp has made it clear that he wants to return, but the organization is not rushing him back to play this season.
Williamson, the No. 1 pick in the 2019 draft, has played only 85 games in his three-year career. He missed the first 44 games of his rookie season with a torn meniscus in his knee, eventually playing just 24 of 72. He was an All-Star in 2020-21, when he played 61 of 72 games, but he fractured his left ring finger and was shut down for the final six games.
Due to all the time that he has missed, and the apparent issues with the organization, the future of the relationship between the Pelicans and Williamson is murky.