Watch: Duke Freshman Sensation Pulls Off MJ's Most Famous Dunk
Zion Williamson, even when he was in high school, was being hyped as the next LeBron James.
He’s three inches shorter, but at 285 pounds and built more like an NFL linebacker, he and the 6-foot-8, 250-pound James both epitomize the modern NBA player who is as tough and strong as he is agile and athletic.
And in practice in a Toronto gym as his Duke Blue Devils prepare for a tour across Canada, Williamson showed off the disregard for gravity of a guy 70 pounds lighter.
The freshman took off from the free throw line in an aerial tribute to NBA legend Michael Jordan’s unforgettable moment in the 1987 Slam Dunk Contest.
https://www.facebook.com/SportsIllustrated/videos/2128000917522325/
Williamson wasn’t even born when Jordan threw down the dunk that Williamson emulated.
Considering Williamson was born to parents who were in college, it’s entirely possible his mom and dad weren’t alive when Julius “Dr. J” Erving threw down the original free throw line dunk in 1976.
From another angle, you can see Williamson’s dunk was the real deal, an astounding display from a kid who won’t even turn 18 until Sept. 6.
ZION WILLIAMSON FROM THE FT LINE. @ZionW32
🚀🚀🚀🐰🐰🐰🐰😤😱😱😱😱😱😱😱😱😱 pic.twitter.com/2l1pwiz2Mc
— Duke Men’s Basketball (@DukeMBB) August 14, 2018
That dunk is no joke; he was a half-step farther back than Jordan was on the 1987 dunk, and he took a shorter run-up than Jordan did at the All-Star contest 31 years ago.
And of course Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski had nothing but praise for his freshman one-and-done recruit.
“At that weight or approximately that weight, he moves as fast as anybody, jumps higher than anybody and he’s alert,” said Krzyzewski. “We’re not talking about someone who has excess body fat. This is a kid that’s in pretty darn good shape and just has a man’s mass. It’s more mass and strength than any type of excess weight. I’m not concerned about that. He’s done really well.”
When you go back and watch old-school basketball, what strikes you the most, besides the short shorts, is just how skinny the players were; back then, the conventional wisdom was that adding bulk only made someone “muscle-bound” and unable to move effectively.
Today, however, with guys like LeBron putting the lie to that belief, the arms race has become to push the limits of how big and strong a guy can get while still retaining his athleticism, and that’s something Williamson is happy to show off to anyone who thinks he’s too big and out of shape, more like Oliver Miller than His Airness.
Williamson isn’t the only great athlete on his team, either.
Air Canada. @ZionW32 @RjBarrett6 @buckmike_00 😱🤯😳#DukeCanadaTour 🔵😈🇨🇦 pic.twitter.com/mzqII5VcDo
— Duke Men’s Basketball (@DukeMBB) August 14, 2018
Duke looks stacked this year, and while it still remains to be seen how Williamson translates his athletic ability to actual basketball competition at the collegiate level, the Blue Devils look like the safest bet in the bracket come March as it stands.
Duke will continue their Canadian tour in advance of the games that count in November.
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