The Dunk That Got Zion Famous

Zion Lateef Williamson (born July 6, 2000) is an American professional basketball player for the New Orleans Pelicans of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He plays the small forward and power forward positions. Following a dominant freshman-year stint with the Duke Blue Devils, he was selected by the Pelicans first overall in the 2019 NBA Draft.   / tsm_karisma   Born in Salisbury, North Carolina, Williamson attended Spartanburg Day School, where he was a consensus five-star recruit and was ranked among the top five players in the 2018 class. He led his team to three straight state championships and earned South Carolina Mr. Basketball recognition in his senior season. Williamson also left high school as a McDonald's All-American, runner-up for Mr. Basketball USA, and USA Today All-USA first team honoree. In high school, he drew national attention for his slam dunks. In his freshman and only season with Duke, Williamson was named ACC Player of the Year, ACC Athlete of the Year and ACC Rookie of the Year. He set the single-game school scoring record for freshmen in January 2019, claimed ACC Rookie of the Week accolades five times, earned AP Player of the Year, Sporting News College Player of the Year recognition, and won the Wayman Tisdale Award. Williamson was born in Salisbury, North Carolina. Before starting basketball, Williamson played soccer and the quarterback position in football.[1] When he was five years old, he set sights on becoming a college basketball star. At age nine, Williamson began waking up every morning at 5 a.m. to go train.[2] He competed in youth leagues with his mother Sharonda Sampson coaching and played for the Sumter Falcons on the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) circuit, facing opponents four years older than him.[3] Williamson later began working with his stepfather, former college basketball player Lee Anderson, to improve his skills as a point guard.[2] He joined the basketball team at Johnakin Middle School in Marion, South Carolina, where he was again coached by his mother and averaged 20 points per game. In middle school, Williamson was a point guard and lost only three games in two years.[2] In 2013, he guided Johnakin to an 8–1 record and a conference title.[4] High school career Freshman and sophomore seasons Williamson attended Spartanburg Day School, a small K–12 private school in Spartanburg, South Carolina, where he played basketball for the Griffins.[1] Between eighth and ninth grade, he grew from 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) to 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m).[3] In the summer leading up to his first season, Williamson practiced in the school gym and developed the ability to dunk.[5] At the time, he competed for the South Carolina Hornets AAU team as well, where he was teammates with Ja Morant.[6] As a freshman, Williamson averaged 24.4 points, 9.4 rebounds, 2.8 assists, 3.3 steals and 3.0 blocks, earning All-State and All-Region honors.[7] He also led Spartanburg Day to a South Carolina Independent School Association (SCISA) state championship game appearance.[8] In March 2015, Williamson took part in the SCISA North-South All-Star Game in Sumter, South Carolina.[9] By his second year in high school, he stood 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m).[8] In his sophomore season, Williamson averaged 28.3 points, 10.4 rebounds, 3.9 blocks, and 2.7 steals per game and was named SCISA Region I-2A Player of the Year.[10] He led the Griffins to their first SCISA Region I-2A title in program history.[1] In June 2016, Williamson participated in the National Basketball Players Association (NBPA) Top 100 camp and was its leading scorer.[11] In August, he won the Under Armour Elite 24 showcase dunk contest in New York City.[12] Junior season As a junior, Williamson averaged 36.8 points, 13 rebounds, 3 steals, and 2.5 blocks per game.[13] Entering the season, he was among 50 players selected to the Naismith Prep Player of the Year Award watch list.[14] Starting in the 2016–17 season, Williamson was propelled into the national spotlight for his viral highlight videos.[15] He made his season debut on November 15, 2016, recording 42 points and 16 rebounds in a win over Cardinal Newman High School.[16] In the same month, his highlights drew the praise of NBA player Stephen Curry.[17] On November 24, Williamson erupted for 50 points, including 10 dunks, along with 16 rebounds and 5 blocks versus Proviso East High School at the Tournament of Champions.[18][19] In a 73–53 victory over Gray Collegiate Academy at the Chick-fil-A Classic on December 21, he posted a tournament-record 53 points and 16 rebounds, shooting 25-of-28 from the field.[20] On December 30, Williamson recorded 31 points and 14 rebounds to win most valuable player (MVP) at the Farm Bureau Insurance Classic.[21] On January 15, 2017, he received nationwide publicity after rapper Drake wore his jersey in an Instagram post.[22]   / tsm_karisma