Is Zion Williamson overrated?

Yup. You heard me. Or read me? I don't know. Anyway, we all know the hype surrounding number 1 overall pick, Zion Williamson - mister shoebuster himself.

Zion Williamson (Zanos?)

Zion has been in headlines for well over the last year. His online superstardom is well deserved, mostly as a byproduct of his inhuman athleticism. Just take a look at this young man, who is listed at a massive 6'7", 285 lbs. In comparison, LeBron James is listed at a "measly" 250 lbs.

This frame, which is largely responsible for his breathtaking dunks, incredible motor, and absolute dominance, is exactly what worries me most. I think he's too big.

I know what you're thinking: "what the heck do you mean 'too big'?" I mean that I don't think his body can handle 285 lbs. Yes, it makes for some insane highlights, but in the long run, he's definitely going to have to lose some weight. The older he gets, the more stress this weight is going to put on his knees. He is going to have to be very careful about the way he uses his body, because the slightest miscalculation on his part may lead to a very unfortunate injury, likely in his lower body. In fact, we've already seen this happen when he blew out his shoe. Luckily for him, and us, he only suffered a mild strain, though this still sidelined him for 5 games.

What number 1 overall pick in the last 10 years relied extremely heavily on his athleticism, played recklessly and all but ended his career? I hate to put this out in the universe, but Zion's unbelievable physical gifts and his headstrong play reminds me of Derrick Rose.

Now, don't get me wrong, I'm not saying I think his career is doomed. I just think that not enough people are talking about the risk he brings. At this point, the narrative everywhere is that Zion will be a perennial All-Star/All-NBA player, which I definitely can see happening. But that doesn't mean we stop looking at the other side of the equation, the one that shows he might not be as durable as his comic book proportions may indicate.

Now, let's talk about his actual basketball skills. Apart from being able to jump out of the gym, what does he really do? What can he add to an NBA team's offense? Let's break him down the way you would in NBA2K, starting with his perimeter game. According to sports-reference.com, Zion shot 33.8% on 2.2 attempts/game from deep in his 33 games at Duke. While this clip is not bad by any means, it's definitely not elite, especially considering most of these were catch and shoot type shots, from a closer college 3pt line. It is worth noting that he did bump this up to 37% on 2.8 attempts in the conference, so he has shown the ability to be effective from beyond the arc. However, I like to believe that FT% is one of - if not the - best indicator of future shooting. Zion, in this department, finished shooting just 64% from the charity stripe. However, he doesn't need to be Steph Curry from beyond the arc, just serviceable, which I do believe he can be, as long as he can find himself more than 2 catch and shoot opportunities per game.

Next, looking at his ball handling and passing capabilities. In college, Zion averaged just over 2 assists per game on a loaded Duke team. I'll admit, just looking at assist numbers doesn't even come close to telling the whole story when it comes to a player's passing ability. In the limited amount of film I've seen on him, I have seen him make the right pass multiple times, and he is occasionally capable of finding the open man on drives to the rim. He can also make the correct read off of the short roll at a decent rate, but if he's to be the star people are expecting him to be, this is an area he will have to improve in.

He has great handling and dribbling skills, so much so that he's even able to be the handler in a pick and roll set, making him incredibly versatile and difficult to defend. Despite this versatility, Zion is a one-armed bandit much like his fellow left-handed bruiser and possible teammate Julius Randle. Zion will have to learn to accommodate his right hand into his attacks in order to reach his ceiling.

However, the biggest thing I'm worried about like I mentioned earlier, is his overwhelming reliance on his athletic ability. What will happen should he suffer an injury, much like a similar athlete in Blake Griffin did? This leads to the fact that he doesn't have a go-to move offensively. Can he be the best player on a championship team in the NBA if he doesn't have a way to just "go get it" whenever required? I'm not sure. This could be one of the reasons we haven't seen Anthony Davis carry the Pelicans to a meaningful playoff run yet. That's a much more complicated question that I might save for a future piece.

If you thought that this would be a Zion-bashing piece, you were mistaken. No, there's no denying that he is an incredible athlete and that he will change any team he plays on for the better. There are no real holes in his game. No. Where most players have a list of "weaknesses", Zion has a list of "not yet strengths." Depending on the way his career goes he can become anything from a slightly more athletic Randle, to a shorter Shaq, to an all-in-one Draymond Green or Charles Barkley. There's no mistaking that Zion Williamson being the consensus number one overall pick in the 2019 NBA Draft was well deserved. That being said, he has a lot of work to do before people start labeling him an all-time great.

PS: Can we get this man a nickname? LeBron was The Chosen One when he was in college. He was also King James. Why does Zion not have a nickname yet? His Duke teammates called him Zanos. I think that's the worst nickname I've ever heard.