"Zion Williamson is the most dominating, interior scorer we have seen in this league since Shaquille O'Neal" – NBA analyst grades Pelicans star as a top-tier forward in the league dominating the paint
The New Orleans Pelicans had one of the best first games that the organization could be looking for. They played incredibly against the Brooklyn Nets and that's exactly what New Orleans was hoping for coming into the year. After a postseason last year where they showed the world that this team has the potential to win an NBA title if things click and they are healthy, this is the exact start that any player or fan could have hoped for.
Beating the Brooklyn Nets is never an easy task and that's because they have Kevin Durant. Whenever Kevin Durant is on the court, you always have to fear him because of what he can do at any given moment. In response to that, Durant still had 32 points, but New Orleans ended up winning this game by 22 points behind Zion Williamson who finished his first game back in over a year with 25 points in just 30 minutes.
There's a good argument to be made that Zion is the most dominant player in the NBA at the moment. Perhaps outside of Giannis Antetokounmpo and a few others, Zion is right up there with some of the best that have ever played the game in terms of dominance.
NBA analyst Brian Windhorst had the following to say about Zion Williamson and why he believes that he might be the most dominating player in the NBA since Shaquille O'Neal.
"[Zion Williamson] is the most dominating, interior scorer we have seen in this league since Shaquille O'Neal."
"[Zion Williamson] is the most dominating, interior scorer we have seen in this league since Shaquille O'Neal."
— Brian Windhorst
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Is Zion The Most Dominate In Basketball?
It almost feels unfair calling another player the most dominant in the league because of Giannis Antetokounmpo at the moment, but if there is a close second, it's certainly Zion Williamson.
On top of that, he has had two years in his career where he has shown to be extremely efficient inside the paint and can score 25 on any given night with 50-plus percent shooting percentages. If he can continue doing what he has done for the New Orleans Pelicans over the past few years and in game 1 of this season, New Orleans is going to be a team that nobody is going to want to play during the playoffs.
Can Zion Win the MVP?
Zion does have a good chance of winning the MVP this year for a few different reasons. One, the media is certainly happy that he's back and he's a fan favorite. This means that most of the media likes him and that's always something that you're going to need to have in terms of MVP voting. When also factoring in that guys like Brandon Ingram, CJ McCollum and others on the Pelicans, they should be very good this season.
This was a great first start for Zion Williamson and if the Pelicans can continue playing like this, we might have the future best team in the NBA this season. They still have things that they're going to need to work on, but there's no denying that the Pelicans are currently in a great spot and Zion Williamson is a major reason why for that.
Let's see what they can continue doing throughout the remainder of the year as they will be taking on a tough Charlotte Hornets team on Friday in Charlotte.