The highlights (zi-lights, if you will) alone are stunning. There’s something almost comical about a near-300-pound beefcake like Zion Williamson flying through the air. He’s bionic — made of bolts, lasers, titanium and rocket boosters. Or so it seems. The comparisons people are throwing around is such a funny range of supersized athletes — LeBron James, Blake Griffin, Julius Peppers, J.J. Watt, Rodney Rogers. Why not throw Paul Bunyan in there, too?
You don’t even need to see the numbers to know: he’s playing a different game than everyone else. That said, the numbers are pretty ridiculous, too. Let’s take a quick look.
Fast Numbers
- Though the first three games of his career, Zion Williamson is averaging 25.3 points per game. This translates to 76 total points (83.3 eFG%) on only 39 field goal attempts — 1.95 points per field goal attempt
- He’s shooting 86.1 percent on two-point field goal attempts: 31-of-36
- Williamson has more dunks (10) and blocks (9) than he does missed field goals (7) this season (LOL)
- In his 76 minutes of action, Duke has outscored opponents by 81 points, which is insane
- Kentucky: +29
- Army: +25
- Eastern Michigan: +27
- According to Synergy Sports, he’s 14-of-17 (82.4 FG%, 1.71 points per possession) at the rim in the half court
- In transition, Williamson is 10-of-11 from the floor (90.9 FG%), scoring 1.54 points per possession, according to Synergy
- Of the 401 Division I players that have used at least 30 half-court possessions this season, per Synergy, Williamson ranks second in efficiency: 1.44 points per possession (77.6 eFG%)
- According to KenPom, Williams has a sub-10 percent turnover rate and has drawn fouls at a rate of 7.6 per 40 minutes (9.5 FTA per 40 minutes)
- His passing has been really good, too, and the assist numbers look great: 20 percent assist rate, 5.4 assists per 100 possessions
- Overall, Williamson is shooting 90.9 percent at the rim (28-of-31 FGA); and 31 of his 39 FGA (nearly 80 percent) have come at the rim
Read More on Duke Basketball
Film Room: How Cam Reddish helps power Duke’s offense