Guest on Paul George's podcast, Jrue Holiday was led to express himself on Zion Williamsonwhom he welcomed to New Orleans during his rookie season in 2019/20, while the current leader of the Celtics lived his last season in Louisiana. Zion Williamson was then only able to play 24 regular season games, already due to injuries, but also to the premature end of the season following the pandemic.
Despite his physical problems, which continue to undermine his career five years later, Jrue Holiday has enthusiastic memories of it, the former Duke prodigy having lived up to the “hype” around his big debut in the NBA. For the leader of the C's, the NBA had never seen such a morphotype and New Orleans would still seek to exploit his qualities to the maximum. Which doesn't seem like an easy feat…
“I think Zion is one of the most talented guys I’ve ever seen. His athletic ability, his way of finishing in the circle over opponents”he recalled. “I have the impression that sometimes it is a question of complementarity. I don't know if it's up to them to adjust to it by putting it inside, or to shift it outwards in order to have complementarity with another. But I feel like he needs a change in any way, because he shows promise. In any case, when I met him as a rookie, it was incredible. Just in terms of what he was capable of doing. We talk about building muscle and doing all that work. But I saw him at 120-130 kilos, and continuing to fly above the circle.”
Also set the tone in defense
Jrue Holiday is well placed to discuss the thorny case of Williamson, once again on the sidelines to treat his thigh.
Among the other areas of development that the Pelicans player could deepen, Jrue Holiday mentioned defense, he the specialist of the genre, who sees in his former teammate a potential war machine who could progress in this sector of the game, simply with a a little more aggressiveness.
“As far as he’s concerned, I’d like to see him defend a little more. This is not a dig. I think it would highlight his talent, it would elevate his range. I think in attack he has everything he needs. He does what is expected of him. For people on the outside, I would say they expect him to attack the rim and go for points on free throws. But for me, I think the challenge is more defensive, and his teammates see that too. And I think he could set the tone and his teammates could follow.”continued Jrue Holiday.
Unfortunately for Zion Williamson, before thinking about defending, he will first have to get back to 100%…
| 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 | 6.2 | 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 |
| 2024-25 | NOP | 6 | 31 | 45.2 | 33.3 | 66.7 | 2.7 | 5.3 | 8.0 | 5.3 | 3.0 | 0.7 | 3.7 | 1.2 | 22.7 |
| Total | 190 | 32 | 58.7 | 34.1 | 69.4 | 2.2 | 4.3 | 6.6 | 4.2 | 2.2 | 1.0 | 2.8 | 0.6 | 24.6 | |
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.
