Zion Williamson impresses in abbreviated debut at NBA Summer League

LAS VEGAS — The Zion Williamson show came to Las Vegas, and it did not disappoint. At least not in the limited minutes he played.

Williamson’s first made shot was – you guessed it – a dunk. 

His next three baskets were dunks, too, and the power game Williamson showed in his one season at Duke in 2018-19 was on display in the first quarter of his first NBA Summer League game. 

The New Orleans Pelicans rookie, the No. 1 overall pick in last month’s draft, had 11 points, three rebounds and one steal in his much-anticipated summer debut. All his made shots were dunks, and he was 3-for-6 at the foul line.

He played just 9 minutes and 10 seconds. He took a knee-to-knee hit in the second quarter, and the Pelicans did not play him for the rest of the game for precautionary reasons.  

Zion Williamson reacts after a dunk in the first half against the New York Knicks. (Photo: Mark J. Rebilas, USA TODAY Sports)

But he created an electric environment, surpassing the excitement for the Lonzo Ball-Jayson Tatum showdown on the opening day of the Las Vegas Summer League two years ago. It was a Day 1 sellout with most fans packing the Thomas & Mack Center to watch the Pelicans and Williamson play the New York Knicks and RJ Barrett, the No. 3 overall pick in the draft.

It was a star-studded event in the courtside seats to watch the show. LeBron James sat next to Los Angeles Lakers teammate-in-waiting Anthony Davis. DeMar DeRozan sat two seats down from James. Collin Sexton, Buddy Hield, and Trae Young sat next to each other. Memphis teammates Ja Morant, the No. 2 pick, and Jaren Jackson Jr., who made the 2018-19 All-Rookie team, were in attendance. Ball and Brandon Ingram were also in attendance.

An earthquake in California but felt in Las Vegas delayed the game with 7:53 left in the fourth quarter. Play for the night was postponed as a precaution.   

For precautionary reasons, the remainder of tonight’s @NBASummerLeague action at Thomas & Mack Center has been postponed.

— NBA (@NBA) July 6, 2019

Williamson put on a show before the game began with pregame dunks in the layup line. On the Pelicans’ first offensive possession, they ran an alley-oop play for Williamson, but he was fouled before he had a chance to catch the basketball and dunk it.

He got his first dunk after posting up, then proceeded to get two more dunks in the next minute and a half.

Zion Williamson drops 10 PTS in the 1st Q of @nyknicks/@PelicansNBA! #NBASummer

?: ESPN pic.twitter.com/SuvVh9tB1P

— NBA (@NBA) July 6, 2019

Williamson didn’t have a perfect game. He missed five shots, including two 3-pointers, and Knicks second-year big man Mitchell Robinson blocked a Williamson shot and hustled in transition for an uncontested dunk.

Early in the third quarter, fans chanted, “We want Zion, we want Zion” unaware of the knee-to-knee contact.

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