In a season marred by injuries, Zion Williamson was the spark the NBA was hoping to light up the season, and so far, since his return from a long hiatus, he has been very exciting to watch averaging a solid 22 points and seven rebounds.
The question that remains is, what is his ceiling? Doug Gottlieb thinks Zion is riding the wave of defenses not exactly having a proper plan to deal with the freight train named 'Zion Williamson.'
Gottlieb highlights this by comparing Williamson to the success of Lamar Jackson in the NFL:
"I have fear of injury, I have fear of adjustment because, like Lamar Jackson, we have never seen this type of athleticism at that position. Lamar is more skilled than maybe we thought, but his refinement as a quarterback is not there yet. But he's improved from year 1 to year 2. Lamar Jackson is arguably/inarguably the fastest and quickest player to be a run-pass quarterback in NFL history. So when you factor in the speed in explosiveness, it's DIFFERENT when it's this speed.
The same is true in the NBA; We've seen small ball big guys before. We've seen athletic smaller players play center before. We haven't seen the combination of speed, strength, athleticism in a small ball package in the NBA."
Watch Doug Gottlieb further break down his fascination with Zion Williamson, who has been successful despite not frequently shooting the ball.