After a lot of talks and injuries in his rookie season, Zion Williamson is finally coming to his own and showing people his true potential this season. The youngster has been a beast in the paint and his sheer physicality makes him a very tough player to guard.
Obviously, there were comparisons but there are not many players in the NBA with that kind of playstyle and build as Zion. So he is now being compared to Hall of Famers like Shaquille O’Neal and Charles Barkley.
While the Pelicans’ star is much faster and better with his vision and ball handling when it comes to bringing the ball down the court. He runs the offence for the Pelicans and has been dropping some sensation numbers lately.
Although the Pelicans have struggled this season Zion has been very fun to watch. He has dominated defences especially on the paint and his show of perseverance and athleticism has been a treat for the fans.
The astronomic numbers of Zion day in day out makes people compare him with someone like Shaquille O’Neal. However former NBA champion B.J. Armstrong does not agree with the comparisons and claims that they are way apart in their playstyle.
Having plied his trade for the Chicago Bulls Armstrong has faced Shaq multiple times mainly during his time at Orlando Magic. Both the teams had some matchups in the playoffs and hence Armstrong knows the man very well.
“You’re talking about Shaquille O’Neal, right? We’re talking about Shaq Diesel. Zion is putting up historical numbers. You look at the stats, he’s averaging roughly 27 points on 61% shooting from the field. No one’s done that in the history of the NBA, especially at his age.”
“No one in the modern NBA has had the impact that Shaquille O’Neal has had. Now Zion is putting up numbers on the offensive end. But Zion is not dominating the game on the defensive end.”
“He’s dominating the game at rim protection. You couldn’t double team Shaq with a guard. The only player I can compare Zion Williamson to is Charles Barkley.”
There is a reason why Shaquille O’Neal is spoken so highly as he dominated the game at a different level. Therefore Armstrong points out the areas where Zion can’t be compared to Shaq. However, the former NBA champions feel that the comparisons should be more fitting if Zion was compared with Charles Barkley. Leaving the comparisons aside one can only imagine the potential that Zion has and he will only get better with every passing year.
