Placeholder Image

Subtitles section Play video

  • Zion Williamson isn't just one of the most hyped young players in recent NBA history.

  • He's also one of the most dominant interior scorers in the world.

  • His signature shot is simple.

  • It is incredible slam dunks.

  • We go lob Williamson and he smashes the rim.

  • Williamson represents an unprecedented blend of size, strength, agility and savvy, and he's only 20 years old.

  • Simply put, we've never seen a player like this, and his dunks are great for two reasons.

  • First, they make spectacular highlights.

  • Just look at thes thes.

  • Yeah, three second.

  • They are very efficient scoring options for his team.

  • Williamson has already become one of the NBA's most prolific interior scorers.

  • Ah, corner of a way.

  • Through the season, he led the MBA in points in the paint.

  • Now LeBron James and Yannis onto Tombo have dominated that category for years.

  • But in his second year, Zion is keeping pace with those guys you know, with his athleticism, what we all see.

  • His ability Thio jump up well beyond the 10 ft rim is incredible, I think was also incredible is at his size his speed, his agility, his quickness and even though the MBA scoring zone has expanded thanks to the sharpshooting theatrics of Steph Curry and Damian Lillard and others.

  • There's still no more efficient shot in the game of basketball than the dunk.

  • It's an art form for Zion.

  • He's been perfecting it since he exploded onto the scene with viral moments in Spartanburg Day and that vaulted him to stardom during a historically efficient season at Duke Williamson, slamming it home.

  • Get used to that.

  • But how is he getting all these dunks in the MBA?

  • He's doing it in four key ways.

  • Lobs, drives to the rack cuts and what we will call catch and dunk opportunities or put backs.

  • Let's start with lobs.

  • Zion is much more than just a freak athlete.

  • The youngster has terrific basketball instincts and a great feel for the game.

  • Some of his best dunks are the result of his ability to play off the ball and find the exact right moment to elevate to the basket, catch a teammates pass and flush it down.

  • He's developed the best chemistry with Lonzo Ball.

  • Nobody has fed the big guy for more alley oops than Lonzo.

  • Ball has incredible passing ability in the combination of Lonzo and Zion has provided us with dozens of great highlights like this quintessential example.

  • Watch Zion.

  • Here is Lonzo uses a Steven Adams ball screen.

  • Williamson slinks back like he's out of the play.

  • But as soon as he catches Pascal, CIA comes eyes drifting toward the pick and roll action.

  • He knows exactly what to dio.

  • He darts towards the rim.

  • Lonzo sees it and fires the perfect pass his way and easy to for the pelicans.

  • Speaking of Easy, some of the Lonzo Zion logs happened before the defense's or even set.

  • Check out this example.

  • The Timberwolves Air still celebrating their own basket, while Alonso heaves a long distance love that ends the Wolves party right away.

  • Zion dunks the ball with 21 seconds left on the shot clock.

  • But make no mistake, Zion catches lobs from others to both Brandon Ingram and Drew Holiday back when he was on.

  • The Pelicans have racked up tons of assists by lobbing the ball his way over the past two seasons.

  • England captain will be silent from true.

  • Those lobs are awesome, but Zion doesn't always need to be airborne to be a dangerous target for his teammates.

  • He's also great at finding the perfect cutting lanes closer to sea level.

  • As soon as he finds a bit of space and momentum towards the hoop, he becomes one of the most dangerous finishers in the game.

  • Check out this example.

  • The Hornets forget about Zion.

  • He sneaks towards the foul line, catches the pass and then does what he was born to Dio.

  • He gathers his energy and absolutely explodes off the ground, hammered home and draw the foul for good measure.

  • Good luck getting in front of that freight train.

  • Here's another one as soon as his man leaves him to help on the ball.

  • So I am pounces towards the hoop.

  • The ball finds him come boom.

  • Another dunk.

  • Lose track of Zion for a second.

  • And not only will he make you pay with these cuts, he'll turn you into poster to Zion.

  • They love Thio.

  • Zion doesn't always need help getting to a signature shot, though many times he creates them for themselves, using dribble drives to attack the paint before elevating and crushing the rim.

  • Williamson has great handles for a player of the size, and he uses them to get some of his most awesome Jammed.

  • Check out this pair of drives, both versus Sacramento.

  • Zion catches the pass that a relatively harmless spot along the baseline while his teammates screens were Sean home.

  • Zion takes two dribbles, and by the time he reaches the crown of the restricted area, it's too late, folks hammer time.

  • Later in that same game, he again receives the ball on the perimeter.

  • But this time he uses a crazy blend of ball handling, body movements and strength to get the rock into the paint.

  • One of the things that makes him so unique is that blend of size, power and agility.

  • This spin move against the Spurs epitomizes that players his size aren't supposed to float and spin like this.

  • And when teams attempt to use more agile defenders like, say, Kyle Kuzma to defend him, well, that's when it's muscle time, and he just overpowers down.

  • Even the league's best shot blockers have looked silly trying to stop these drives.

  • Williamson also happens to be among the best young rebounders in the league, and many of his offensive boards quickly turned into our fourth category of dunks and this clip.

  • The Wolves think they've stopped Williamson when he misses a close ranger.

  • But the work isn't done.

  • Zion grabs the board and rises up for the put back on his own miss.

  • Opponents and analysts have been marveling at Zion second jump since he was dominating the paint in the A C C.

  • And it's that explosiveness that sets the stage for many of his put back Slams, he said.

  • A good screen on offense.

  • Way.

  • Williamson is well on his way to becoming one of the most dominant interior forces in the game.

  • He currently leads the league by averaging 8.6 dunks and lay ups per game this season, most in the N B A and on pace to be the most anybody's gotten since the second Spectrum started tracking in 2013 14 over the last 25 years.

  • The only other guy to do that is Shaquille O'Neal.

  • Backwoods Shack was in his absolute prime.

  • Now, that's good company for anybody, but especially for a guy who won't even be 21 until after this season.

  • But is he a one trick pony?

  • An astounding 98.6% of his made shots have come in the paint this year and in the league obsessed with long range shooting, he must expand his arsenal outward in the coming years because MBA defenders are too good and you have to have more than one tool to dominate in this league, something Zion is already starting to learn the hard way.

  • Let me explain.

  • No player in the league gets a shot blocked as much a Zion does right now.

  • Defenders No, where he wants to go and how he wants to score.

  • Sometimes I in awesome athleticism is still enough, but he's not the only awesome athlete in the best basketball league in the world.

  • Opposing big are now over playing those dunks and lay ups, and the stats are staggering.

  • Zion shots have been blocked 2.3 times for game this season, which is on pace to be the most by any player over the last 25 seasons.

  • The Mawr.

Zion Williamson isn't just one of the most hyped young players in recent NBA history.

Subtitles and vocabulary

Click the word to look it up Click the word to find further inforamtion about it