Duke's Zion Williamson Declares for 2019 NBA Draft

Williamson is 18 years old.

Zion
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Image via Getty/Lance King

Zion

On Monday, much to the shock of no one, Duke freshman Zion Williamson declared himself eligible for the 2019 NBA Draft.

Williamson racked up numerous accolades in his sole season in Durham, including the ACC Player of the Year Award, a nod as a Consensus First-Team All-American, and also the Consensus National Player of the Year. In keeping with the fact that it's currently 2019, Zion made his announcement on Instagram:

The 18-year-old figures to go first overall when the NBA Draft takes place on Thursday, June 20, which means that the most important date for fans wishing the teen will don their uniform for years to come could be/is the Draft Lottery, which takes place on Tuesday, May 14:

Zion Williamson has officially declared for the NBA Draft. On May 14, the NBA will hold its lottery to determine which team has the right to draft him number one overall.

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) April 15, 2019

In 33 games this past season, Williamson posted averages of 22.6 points, 8.9 rebounds, 2.1 steals, and 1.8 blocks per contest. He also had the nation's second highest shooting percentage, at 68 percent. Given the potential and hype surrounding the prospect it wasn't all that surprising to see that many were excited by the news of this inevitable declaration. May 14 narrows that excitement in all but one city (uh, drastically) so enjoy the hypotheticals while you can:

How the Knicks facetiming Zion 😭pic.twitter.com/Xvw2cNwIcq

— Josiah Johnson (@KingJosiah54) April 15, 2019

It's official.

Zion Williamson is declaring for the NBA Draft.

Williamson is just the 3rd freshman to win the Wooden Award, joining Kevin Durant and Anthony Davis. He shot 68.0% from the field, setting a Division I freshman record.

He is ESPN's top-ranked NBA Draft prospect. pic.twitter.com/gciPvuu6TG

— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) April 15, 2019

Duke's Zion Williamson will be selected No. 1 overall in the June 20 NBA Draft ... now that he has made it official via Instagram that he is entering the draft

— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) April 15, 2019

Knicks fans when literally anyone says they aren’t getting Durant/Kyrie/Zion pic.twitter.com/nf21aNxtJv

— The Knicks Wall (@TheKnicksWall) April 15, 2019

What does Zion Williamson bring to an NBA franchise? pic.twitter.com/z9MM8Ey54s

— Mike Schmitz (@Mike_Schmitz) April 15, 2019

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