Zion Williamson is pushing to be the face of the league after LeBron James
Have you seen the New Orleans Pelicans play recently? Or at all this season?
If so, you've noticed that they have this young guy – he's like part power forward, part guard, part center – who is pretty good.
That streak extended to 21 on Tuesday, when New Orleans wunderkind Zion Williamson shot 9-of-13 from the field and scored 27 points in just under 29 minutes in a 128-111 win for the Pelicans over the Los Angeles Lakers.
After he played in just 24 games last season, the magnifying glass was focused on Williamson coming into this year.
Although he averaged 22.5 points and 6.3 rebounds on 58.3% shooting as a rookie, the big question was whether Zion's body could hold up over the course of an entire season.
So far, that question is a thing of the past.
Williamson has played in all but two of the Pelicans' 43 games this season, and you'd be hard-pressed to find a night on which he didn't impress.
He is averaging 25.7 points (11th in the NBA) on a ridiculous 62.1% shooting (fifth). He's grabbing 7.0 rebounds and dishing out 3.4 assists per game, and his PER of 27.36 trails only those of Nikola Jokic, Joel Embiid and Giannis Antetokoumpo.
Zion has scored in double figures in all 41 of his appearances this season, and over the course of the season, he has put together a few masterpiece performances, such as Feb. 12 in Dallas, when he scored a career-high 36 points on 14-of-15 shooting in 37 minutes.
Twelve times this season, Williamson has shot 70% or better from the field, and five times he has shot at an 80% clip or better. He has scored 20 or more points 35 times and fewer than 20 only six times.
Lastly, Zion has the second-most points in NBA history through 65 games (1,595), trailing only Michael Jordan (1,804).
For these reasons and many more, Colin Cowherd went out on the limb Wednesday and proclaimed Williamson the face of the league – when LeBron James isn't playing, of course.
"The way you play in the NBA will determine a lot. ... Frankly, Zion, to me, now that LeBron's out for a month, he's the No. 1 TV product. It's Steph [Curry] and him. Those are the guys I rush to the TV to watch."
Colin Cowherd on Pelicans' star Zion: 'Now that LeBron is hurt, he's the face of the league' | THE HERD
Cowherd's argument was based mostly on the superstars of yesteryears. He compared Karl Malone – a two-time NBA MVP, 14-time All-Star and the No. 2 scorer in league history – to Shawn Kemp, a six-time All-Star with not remotely the same résumé.
"In the NBA ... how you score is how the league is gonna put you on television. Karl Malone was boring. Shawn Kemp was riveting. Shawn Kemp became a big star. Like 80% of Karl Malone's points were free throws or a boring pick-and-roll.
"When you look at the history of the NBA, who the biggest stars have been, it's not always the best player," Cowherd added. "It's how they score. Magic Johnson was so unique. Then it was Michael, who was glamorous and good-looking and cool. ... That's what Zion Williamson has."
As for the other superstars in the NBA, Cowherd acknowledged that their games have translated to wins and playoff success – but they don't have the Zion factor working in their favor.
"Giannis, Kawhi, Anthony Davis, Chris Paul – they'll give you a quiet 26. Zion's is a loud 25. It is memorable. It is Shawn Kemp. It is loud."
Zion's loud game earned him the first All-Star nod of his career this season, and chances are he'll begin to piece together All-Star-worthy appearances in 20-points-on-50%-shooting nights.
If he does, maybe LeBron's grip on being the face of the league will loosen even before his career is over.
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