UPDATED 5/21 AT 2:40 pm ET: A source close to Zion Williamson says that he's never met NBA superstars John Wall or Anthony Davis.
The source said that neither Wall nor Davis refused to sign his autograph. Williamson was merely using their names as examples in his analogy to explain why he makes time for his fans.
"Williamson has never met Davis or Wall, per source close to him. Neither snubbed him," Charania tweeted. "Williamson was providing analogy using athletes he looked up to in high school, on why he signs for kids."
See the original story below.
Zion Williamson's popularity as a high school athlete is only second to LeBron James' time at St. Vincent-St. Mary. Still, Zion made a commitment to remaining humble by signing every autograph. According to Williamson, Anthony Davis denying an autograph request is one of the reasons behind this dedication to his fans.
"When I was little, I looked up to high school players and wanted their autographs and sometimes I couldn’t get it, I’d be hurt," Williamson said in a 2016 episode of Home Team Hoops' "On The Rise" series. "I said when I grew up, I don’t want to be like that. I want to sign every kid’s autograph. No matter how long it takes me... I don’t want to turn a little kid down because I know it will hurt them because it hurt me. Anthony Davis, John Wall turned me down. So I try to sign everybody’s."
While there is a strong possibility that Zion will not share the court with disgruntled superstar Anthony Davis, the fact that their names are connected proves that life is a flat circle. Despite New Orleans lucking into a generational talent like Williamson, Davis has not swayed from his requests to be traded. This has led to teams around the league scrambling to find ways to use their draft picks and current players to create a trade package that would entice the Pelicans. And because they won the chance to draft Zion, the Pelicans are more open to moving AD in exchange for pieces to place around Williamson.
