Zion is the most exciting/dynamic player since....

[ZenConn]

Reminds me of Danny Fortson with major ups and quickness with the same body style.

Danny Fortson was a beast in college.

 

[3rdbass]

Reminds me of Charles Barkley. A little heavy up top but a freakish athlete for his size. He is a couple inches taller than Barkley but very similar in how they are freakish athletes for their huge size. Charles might not be as good of an athlete but he could really move and dribble for a guy his size. Some of his blocks were unbelievable in this video.

 

[nelsonmuntz]

Zion gets a few cool highlight plays a game, but I think we need to tap the brakes with comparisons to the greatest players of all time.

The first warning sign is that Duke did not look dominant in the tournament. Duke has 3 players projected to be in the first 10 picks, and they were a couple of no calls on offensive fouls away from being knocked out the first weekend of the tournament. If Zion was truly a dominant player, he should be able to carry a team as good as Duke to the Final Four by himself.

His height is an issue, and he doesn't make up for it with wingspan. He is 6'7, and his wingspan is 6'10. Most PF's at the next level are 6'10 and 7'2. He is going to try and out-muscle opponents, but NBA 4's are pretty strong.

There only two prior examples that I can think of where an undersized PF became really successful in the NBA are Charles Barkley and Larry Johnson. Larry Johnson feels like the closer comparable to Zion. Johnson was a great athlete that was explosive and bigger players struggled to cover him. Johnson had an advantage over Zion in that there were still some big stiffs at the 4 back then which there aren't now. Johnson didn't get to the NBA until he was 22, but he only had about 5 years at the top before the wear and tear of the NBA caught up to him. Carrying that much weight, even if it is muscle, is a lot of strain on the joints and knees in particular. I feel like Larry Johnson is Williamson's upside.

Barkley was a once in a lifetime player. He was 6'6 and probably played at 250-260 most of his career. He was very skilled, and a very accruate shooter. There wasn't nearly as much 3 point shooting back then, but Barkley had a good mid-range game. He also averaged over 4 apg most of his career. Williamson has a long way to go to be Barkley.

 

[superjohn]

To the extent there was a knock on him coming out of high school it was "well, he's roasting a bunch of 5-9 suburban kids, just wait until he's playing high major college basketball." And then he got to high major college basketball and still looked like a different species than everyone else on the court. I'm not sure how much Draymond you've watched lately but I doubt he's the guy that's going to make Zion look normal. The kid's quicker, jumps higher, and has FIFTY pounds on him.

Draymond Green might be the most overrated player in the history of the NBA.

 

[mrl2016]

Carson Edwards.

 

[housekeys]

Blake Griffin

 

[mauconnfan]

Reminds me of Danny Fortson with major ups and quickness with the same body style.

Danny Fortson was a beast in college.

Good one here, very similar. Much more explosive I think than Fortson but I like this comparison.

 

[billybud]

Zion's wingspan is 2" shorter than Lebron's (1 inch per side)...he jumps as high. And Zion is heavier with good weight.

Who lnows his potential...but Lebron took five years as a pro to really get into his prime.

 

[puppygenius]

Ajou Ajou Deng?

 

[Kemba429]

I hope Phoenix picks up Zion and then Kemba in free agency. Kemba had 47 of the teams 102 points last night and almost everytime hes gone off this year theyve lost. Its time to move on. Phoenixs potential 2020 starting 5 is deadly: Kemba, Booker, Warren, Zion, Ayton.

 

[nelsonmuntz]

The Zion Williamson hype is off the charts. There are posts in this thread claiming that Zion is already better than Barkley (one of the Top 50 players of all time), while another poster claims that the Phoenix Suns will be "deadly" if they get Kemba Walker and Zion Williamson. The Phoenix freaking Suns. The hype from draft analysts is just as hyperbolic.

Whichever team wins the draft lottery should dangle the pick out and see what they can get. I think the draft pick for Zion Williamson could be worth more than the player himself will ever be worth.

 

[Kemba429]

The Zion Williamson hype is off the charts. There are posts in this thread claiming that Zion is already better than Barkley (one of the Top 50 players of all time), while another poster claims that the Phoenix Suns will be "deadly" if they get Kemba Walker and Zion Williamson. The Phoenix freaking Suns. The hype from draft analysts is just as hyperbolic.

Whichever team wins the draft lottery should dangle the pick out and see what they can get. I think the draft pick for Zion Williamson could be worth more than the player himself will ever be worth.

Ok so let me get this straight. Because theyre the Suns means that that starting 5 wont be deadly? Thats a joke right? Phoenix has talent, TJ Warren is highly underrated, he lacks on D but before he was out he was averaging 18 ppg. We all know what Booker can do, DeAndre Ayton is averaging a double double and will only get better. Maybe Zion wont be the best player in the draft, who knows, but he definitely wont be a bust and will instantly boost any team he goes to.

 

[BigErnMcCracken]

Booker would be the worst kind of player to pair with Williamson.

 

[Travelman6]

Espn can't stop pimping this guy. Sick of him now. Zions scouting report on the final four? Man what a stretch, who cares, talk more about ttech, auburn, Virginia and msu. Three of these teams are having very special seasons, enough about Zion.

 

[TheChamps990411]

Zion is combo of Vince Carter and Lebron.

At first I was going to say this is a terrible comparison but I think I agree as far as physically yes its pretty spot on. But in terms of the way he plays the game id have to say its a terrible comparison. Zion is far more Charles Barkley than Lebron never mind VC. I think Zion is going to be this generations Barkley 2.o Just a bit bigger and more athletic and his 3 point shot is coming along nicely.

 

[UCfor3]

At first I was going to say this is a terrible comparison but I think I agree as far as physically yes its pretty spot on. But in terms of the way he plays the game id have to say its a terrible comparison. Zion is far more Charles Barkley than Lebron never mind VC. I think Zion is going to be this generations Barkley 2.o Just a bit bigger and more athletic and his 3 point shot is coming along nicely.

That is the first line of a much longer post explaining why. It wasn't as simple as that one sentence. I don't really love the comparison myself but that's because there really has not been anyone quite like Zion to compare him too. He's got Vince's lift and explosion for sure.

 

[gtcam]

Player of the year
What a slap to the guys who played a full season
Ja Morant is my choice
But no way was anyone going to stand in the way of Zion

 

[Jaker]

Zach Randolph

 

[UofCT]

Draymond Green might be the most overrated player in the history of the NBA.

Love this take

 

[nelsonmuntz]

Ok so let me get this straight. Because theyre the Suns means that that starting 5 wont be deadly? Thats a joke right? Phoenix has talent, TJ Warren is highly underrated, he lacks on D but before he was out he was averaging 18 ppg. We all know what Booker can do, DeAndre Ayton is averaging a double double and will only get better. Maybe Zion wont be the best player in the draft, who knows, but he definitely wont be a bust and will instantly boost any team he goes to.

Let me make this clear: the Suns freaking suck and are one of the worst organizations in pro sports. They are terrible defensively and the fact that someone on this team scores points because everyone else sucks does not mean that they are a piece or two away from being competitive.

 

[nelsonmuntz]

Zion gets a few cool highlight plays a game, but I think we need to tap the brakes with comparisons to the greatest players of all time.

The first warning sign is that Duke did not look dominant in the tournament. Duke has 3 players projected to be in the first 10 picks, and they were a couple of no calls on offensive fouls away from being knocked out the first weekend of the tournament. If Zion was truly a dominant player, he should be able to carry a team as good as Duke to the Final Four by himself.

His height is an issue, and he doesn't make up for it with wingspan. He is 6'7, and his wingspan is 6'10. Most PF's at the next level are 6'10 and 7'2. He is going to try and out-muscle opponents, but NBA 4's are pretty strong.

There only two prior examples that I can think of where an undersized PF became really successful in the NBA are Charles Barkley and Larry Johnson. Larry Johnson feels like the closer comparable to Zion. Johnson was a great athlete that was explosive and bigger players struggled to cover him. Johnson had an advantage over Zion in that there were still some big stiffs at the 4 back then which there aren't now. Johnson didn't get to the NBA until he was 22, but he only had about 5 years at the top before the wear and tear of the NBA caught up to him. Carrying that much weight, even if it is muscle, is a lot of strain on the joints and knees in particular. I feel like Larry Johnson is Williamson's upside.

Barkley was a once in a lifetime player. He was 6'6 and probably played at 250-260 most of his career. He was very skilled, and a very accruate shooter. There wasn't nearly as much 3 point shooting back then, but Barkley had a good mid-range game. He also averaged over 4 apg most of his career. Williamson has a long way to go to be Barkley.

And there it is.

 

[Stinger92860]

Sources: Zion (knee) expected to miss weeks

 

[auror]

And there it is.

He's also been unbelievably good in the pre-season, so I wouldn't exactly take a victory lap.

 

[gtcam]

The kid is not going to play a full or even 3/4 season
He will be hurt every year
His body is not made for the physicality and the rigors
My guess is that being a big guy all along he never warmed up properly when younger - a normal habit - and is now feeling the affects.
He is a talent - no doubt about it - but he'll be one of those whose injuries may hinder expectations
just an opinion