No. 1 overall pick Zion Williamson made his much-anticipated NBA regular season debut with the New Orleans Pelicans on Wednesday night in a game against the San Antonio Spurs.
👀 Zion Williamson's introduction in New Orleans ahead of his debut for the @PelicansNBA!
📺: ESPN pic.twitter.com/JXiECbdtwP
The former Duke player was out for the previous part of the season with a right knee injury.
"I want him to be excited, and he is excited," Pelicans coach Alvin Gentry said to Yahoo Sports ahead of Zion's debut. "This is this kid’s lifelong dream since he was 4 years old. Everybody wants to be an NBA guy. And to be an NBA guy and be the first pick, it’s mind-boggling. It really is. The thing I said to him, you’ve done it, you’re there. Enjoy it. Enjoy the moment, enjoy it."
Zion's first NBA bucket 💪 pic.twitter.com/RTUtXXPbts
Zion finds BI cutting to the rim for an easy 2! pic.twitter.com/qjjNg2a9kh
After starting of slow, Zion came alive in the fourth quarter at Smoothie King Center. Fans even started chanting "MVP."
16 FOURTH QUARTER POINTS FOR ZION. THIS IS HAPPENING. (via @PelicansNBA) pic.twitter.com/M8lyONCqqj
ZION TAKEOVER ‼️‼️‼️‼️ pic.twitter.com/u8W7poQM3i
Zion Williamson is getting MVP chants in the Smoothie King Center. This is not a drill. pic.twitter.com/4mj89hhwGj
Zion Williamson scored 17 straight points for the Pelicans in a span of 3:29 in the 4th quarter.
It's tied for the most points in a quarter in a player's 1st career game over the last 20 seasons. pic.twitter.com/HPhFsqpRqT
ESPN's Mark Jackson was criticized by some for questioning Zion's weight early in the game.
Lol @ them posting Zion’s weight like a stat pic.twitter.com/u6cc5lN23n
Zion's first game and we get Jeff Van Gundy and Mark Jackson pic.twitter.com/47RCS4bG4t
After the game, Gentry spoke to reporters about Zion. "I think what you saw there is a taste of what... once we really get settled in and he gets settled in I think you can see... there's a lot of potential there," he said.
Gentry on Zion's debut#Pelicans pic.twitter.com/KspESxUvk1
Check out more reactions and commentary to Zion's first regular season NBA game below.
“How many times will ESPN say Zion Williamson’s name tonight?” pic.twitter.com/JUm8dkwj8Z
Nobody:
Zion stans waiting for his first dunk back playing with the Pelicans pic.twitter.com/u3M78peZoy
*Spurs double team Zion on his first NBA touch*
Basketball fans everywhere: pic.twitter.com/bGHAIE2DMo
Crazy stat on the broadcast: there have already been more Zion Williamson jerseys and t-shirts sold than all members of the 2018 NBA first round draft class (which included Luka Doncic and Trae Young) combined.
Zion Williamson is the 1st player in @NBAHistory to shoot 4-4 (or better) from 3-point land in a NBA debut. pic.twitter.com/6wj8a2vUON
Zion ain’t dunked yet pic.twitter.com/2LFDbjQGCA
I’m ready to see Zion catch a body!!!
Zion Williamson just scored his first career NBA points pic.twitter.com/plMNLCnJt6
4-4 FROM THREE ZION IS TAKING OVER pic.twitter.com/mTae6QXaxG
Zion blackin
Me watching Zion rn #NBA pic.twitter.com/lElTbiDl72
This is how fast #Zion went from 5pts to 22pts pic.twitter.com/6la8YktxB0
Zion finished out the game with 7 rebounds, 3 assists, and 22 points. He played for 18 minutes.
The Pelicans lost to the Spurs with a final score of 117-121.
Battled until the end. pic.twitter.com/KD6iG6fwBG
