For his first game in the NBA, in January 2020, Zion Williamson went strong and sold a dream to Pelicans fans: a powerful and spectacular player who can also shoot 3-points. Let's remember that he scored 4 prize-winning baskets that evening. The rest was less impressive since, for five years, when he was not injured, he never scored more than two 3-point shots, as our NOLA colleagues.
And the matches where he weighed further than near the circle can be counted on the fingers of one hand. “Zion Williamson can really shoot from distance. The offseason is an opportunity for him”however, believes the vice-president of the Pelicans, David Griffin.
Don't think about failure
Since the start of his career, the New Orleans interior has taken 63% of his shots within a meter of the circle. Two shots out of three therefore. It's natural for him to rely on his strengths, where he can hurt defenses. But it also hides a weakness: the fear of failure.
“I have to tell myself that there is nothing wrong with missing a shot. It's always been a mental obstacle for me, ever since university.”concedes the double All-Star. “When I miss the target, I don't want to feel like I forced a shot. Once I get over this, and I mostly have, I'll be fine. »
It's about the balance and the variety of his offensive play, thus opening up spaces if the defenders have to stick to him more three, four or five meters from the circle. Because, among the matches where he showed his potential, there was a meeting in Phoenix last April. Huge in this match with 29 points, 10 rebounds, 7 assists and 5 blocks, he had hit several times from mid-distance. From then on, it takes on a new dimension, while waiting to break another lock, at 3-pts.
The year of maturity?
“I'm pretty comfortable at mid-distance now. I can shoot 3-pointers. I can. But my state of mind is first to find the right shot, to attack the circle. For the moment, it is therefore close to the circle and halfway away”continues the 24-year-old.
For those who dream of “pure and simple revenge” This season, adding this mid-range weapon would be perfect to take a step forward. Perhaps he needed time, as the franchise GM analyzes.
“He is entering his sixth season and each player has his own maturity: how he approaches the offseason, how he is coached,” specifies Bryson Graham. “I think Zion is at a place in his career where he understands how important summers are to working on his game. Not that he wasn't before, but he's taken a step forward in his understanding. He's not far from all that since he played 70 matches last year, getting injured just before the playoffs. It's ready to explode. »
| Zion Williamson | Percentage | Rebounds | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | MJ | Min | Shots | 3pts | L.F. | Off | Def | Early | Pd | Party | Int | Bp | Ct | Pts |
| 2019-20 | NOP | 24 | 28 | 58.3 | 42.9 | 64.0 | 2.7 | 3.6 | 6.3 | 2.1 | 1.8 | 0.7 | 2.5 | 0.4 | 22.5 |
| 2020-21 | NOP | 61 | 33 | 61.1 | 29.4 | 69.8 | 2.7 | 4.5 | 7.2 | 3.7 | 2.2 | 0.9 | 2.7 | 0.6 | 27.0 |
| 2022-23 | NOP | 29 | 33 | 60.8 | 36.8 | 71.4 | 2.0 | 5.0 | 7.0 | 4.6 | 2.2 | 1.1 | 3.4 | 0.6 | 26.0 |
| 2023-24 | NOP | 70 | 32 | 57.0 | 33.3 | 70.2 | 1.7 | 4.1 | 5.8 | 5.0 | 2.3 | 1.1 | 2.8 | 0.7 | 22.9 |
| Total | 184 | 32 | 59.2 | 34.1 | 69.5 | 2.2 | 4.3 | 6.5 | 4.1 | 2.2 | 1.0 | 2.8 | 0.6 | 24.7 | |
How to read the stats? MJ = matches played; Min = Minutes; Shots = Successful shots / Attempted shots; 3pts = 3-points / 3-points attempted; LF = free throws made / free throws attempted; Off = offensive rebound; Def=defensive rebound; Tot = Total rebounds; Pd = assists; Fte: Personal fouls; Int = Intercepts; Bp = Lost balls; Ct: Against; Pts = Points.
