NBA Hoops

Zion Williamson joins Michael Jordan in rarefied air

Zion Williamson joins Michael Jordan in rarefied air

The 101st game of Zion Williamson’s career for the New Orleans Pelicans was his best of the season, as he eviscerated the Raptors for 33 points.

Williamson looks to be getting back to peak form after missing all of last season and parts of this one, as health continues to be the only thing really holding him back from an MVP-level season.

Zion Williamson‘s injury history has been well documented, but he does seem to be in the best shape of his life after working all offseason with trainers and a personal chef to get himself ready.

It’s taken him 3+ seasons to reach the 100 game mark, but now that he has, he joined some elite company when it comes to points.

New Orleans Pelicans: Zion Williamson and Michael Jordan

It’s hard to find comparisons for Zion Williamson, as there hasn’t really been a player like him. But when it comes to scoring, Zion’s number can probably be best compared to Michael Jordan, arguably the NBA’s greatest scorer of all time.

Since Jordan, no player has scored more points in their first 100 games than Zion Williamson. That includes everyone from Kobe Bryant to Kevin Durant, so Zion’s impact as a scorer at this age is something special.

Of course, it took Zion more than three seasons to get to that mark, while most of the NBA greats got there early in their second season.

When you look back at first 100 games in NBA history, no one comes close to Wilt Chamberlain, who almost has to have his own separate category for everything, as he averaged an incredible 37 points and 27 rebounds per game, scoring 1,000 points more than Jordan did in his first 100 games.

Zion has averaged  25.3 points, 6.9 rebounds and 3.4 assists in his 101 games in the NBA while shooting 60 percent overall, far better than even Wilt.  He’s still just 22-years-old, two years younger than Jordan was in his 4th season, so Zion has plenty of time to improve.

If Zion Williamson can just stay healthy, he’ll have a chance to be one of the most prolific scorers of his era and could end up on some of the all-time lists for the New Orleans Pelicans.

 

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