An in-depth discussion of why Zion Williamson would be best served being drafted by the Atlanta Hawks in the 2019 NBA Draft.
While the entire college basketball world, and the greater sports world at large, it seems, was blanketed with coverage of superstar Zion Williamson through the 2018-19 season, our Atlanta Hawks coverage regarding the 2019 NBA Draft has been relatively bereft of Zion coverage?
Why, you may ask? Well, the first thing is that the Hawks only have the 5th-best odds at landing the #1 overall pick, which is inevitably where Zion will be drafted.
More from Soaring Down South
- Start, Bench, Cut: Sorting through the Hawks’ power forward options
- Hawks’ Bogdan Bogdanovic reacts to earning FIBA World Cup championship bid
- When does training camp start for the Atlanta Hawks?
- Grade the trade: Hawks deal Trae Young to Clippers in shocking proposal
- Dejounte Murray rips NBA 2K after Atlanta Hawks ratings reveal
Knowing the luck that Atlanta sports teams have had throughout their history, there’s no reason to create immense hype surrounding an outcome that is reliant on ping-pong balls.
However, it must be stated that Zion Williamson is undeniably the best prospect in the 2019 NBA Draft class, and if the Atlanta Hawks were to somehow win the lottery, their team would immediately be vaulted into the public eye as one of the most entertaining teams in the NBA.
Though Luka Doncic certainly put on a show in his rookie year (enough to be named Co-Rookie of the Year), he is just simply not the name that Zion is. The combination of Williamson, Trae Young, John Collins, Kevin Huerter and the other big-name rookie the Hawks might be able to nab in the 2019 NBA Draft would just be too exciting to handle for Hawks fans.
Though the Hawks only have a 10.5 percent chance to pick 1st overall, let’s lay out the myriad reasons why the Atlanta Hawks should select Zion Williamson in the 2019 NBA Draft if they get the chance.
Statistical Profile
Before we go any further in exploring why drafting Zion Williamson in the 2019 NBA Draft would be a good idea for the Atlanta Hawks (duh), it’s worth it to just take a minute and explore the historically brilliant statistical profile he produced in his freshman season.
Beyond the fact that he will only be 18 years old on draft day (and 19 throughout his entire rookie season), Zion’s number in his lone year at Duke were patently absurd and frankly unbelievable.
Zion produced a truly masterful true shooting percentage above 70 percent in his freshman campaign while logging a total of 746 points on the season. No other player in College Basketball Reference’s database logged such a high true shooting percentage with that scoring volume. The closest was Evan Bradds in 2015-16 for the Belmont Bruins with 564 points on a 72.5 true shooting percentage.
Zion swept a variety of awards (Wooden, Naismith, Karl Malone, various player of the years), and with good reason: His 40.8 player efficiency rating was the highest in CBR’s database OF ALL TIME. Notably, Brandon Clarke of Gonzaga would’ve nabbed that record this year with an insane 37.2 PER, but sadly for Clarke, he played in the year of Zion, so tough luck.
Really, an entire article could be devoted to Zion’s stats, but suffice it say, Zion is simply the best college prospect in the one-and-done era of NCAA basketball – even superior to, say, Anthony Davis.
Star Power
Perhaps the most important way in which Zion would aid the Atlanta Hawks is with his massive name recognition. During his freshman season at Duke, Zion led SportsCenter almost every night, and a massive social media following was frequently sharing astonishing highlights of his exploits.
Once Zion gets drafted, it is almost guaranteed that his jersey will be among the top sellers in his first season in the league. Think about that. If the Atlanta Hawks were to miraculously nab the number one overall pick in the 2019 NBA Draft, the team would be top of the mind for many casual fans due to the fact that the Hawks will land perhaps the best prospect since Anthony Davis (or maybe even since LeBron James).
Sure, the team’s already popular players such as Trae Young and John Collins might fall a bit by the wayside, but Zion’s presence would only magnify and amplify the brilliance of those two players – as he would be able to paper over their defensive deficiencies while also operating as a secondary ballhandler or insane alley-oop dunk finisher.
Though Collins and Trae are not quite up to Zion’s level of star power just yet, the team will have far more eyes on it going forward, which means a “rising tide (of Zion) would lift all boats.”
Highlights
One area in which Zion would be a huge boon for the Atlanta Hawks is in the hearts and minds of the masses, as well as in the mainstream media.
At this juncture, although both Collins and Trae have their fans, the team is regarded as a niche rebuilding project. But if Zion were to join the Atlanta Hawks fold in the 2019 NBA Draft, the team would be immediately top of the mind around the country and perhaps around the world due to the absolutely spectacular highlights that the team would be able to produce on a night-to-night basis.
Zion himself might be the most highlight-reel worthy player in recent NBA history, and he would possibly be the only player that could pry away the “Human Highlight Film” moniker from Atlanta Hawks legend Dominique Wilkins.
Each of Zion’s highlights are spectacular and special in their unique way, and much like choosing a favorite child, singling out just one as a favorite is almost impossible. Could it be this coast-to-coast sequence against the eventual national champion Virginia Cavaliers in which he nabs a rebound, sprints down the court, uses an in-and-out dribble to send a defender flying, then finishes a one-handed vicious slam WHILE HIS DEFENDER IS DRAPED OVER HIS DUNKING ARM?
Or maybe you prefer defensive highlights. What about this truly insane sequence (also against Virginia) in which Zion takes off from four feet (or more) inside the three-point line and blocks a three-point shot attempt into the stands from potential Top 5 pick De’Andre Hunter (who the Hawks might also take if they don’t move up in the lottery)?
This are just two of what were a seemingly infinite stream of ridiculous plays Zion made. Wouldn’t it be fun to watch a player this talented on the Atlanta Hawks? (The answer is yes, yes, 1000 times yes).
Offense
On offense, Zion would likely play one of the big man positions. In college, he played alongside a traditional big man in Marques Bolden or Javin DeLaurier throughout his freshman season, but in the NBA, he will likely be implemented as a small-ball five.
For the Atlanta Hawks, this is a stupendous fit, as John Collins has played most of his minutes at the four throughout his career, and he has not shown enough defensive upside to play the center full-time.
JC lacks the requisite length and heft to truly bang with the meatier centers of the NBA, which is an area in which the hulking beefcake Williamson would thrive. In small-ball alignments, Zion would be far too massive for thinner centers to handle, as he could simply overpower them and clobber dunks into their cranium with regularity.
If a team opts for a bigger player, Zion would likely be too fast for the center to handle in space, so Zion could waltz right to the rim.
Though the UCF Golden Knights might’ve provided a way for teams to exploit Zion with the immense 7-foot-6 Tacko Fall (with an 8-foot wingspan), there are literally no players in the NBA that can quite measure up to Fall – with the closest being Boban Marjanovic (7-foot-3, 7-foot-10 wingspan) or Mohamed Bamba (7-foot, 7-foot-10 wingspan).
Here’s the thing, though, both of those players are either too slow (Boban) or too thin (Bamba) to truly deal with Zion. Couple that with the fact that Collins is lurking on the offensive glass and both Trae Young and Kevin Huerter are spacing out well beyond the three-point line, and Zion’s presence creates a win-win for the Atlanta Hawks offense.
Defense
An area where the Atlanta Hawks struggled mightily last season was on the defensive end. Just like with everything that makes a basketball team good, Zion Williamson would greatly aid the team on that end.
Though he could sometimes lose focus off the ball, for the most part, Zion’s freakish physical gifts were often employed to tremendous effect on the less glamorous end of the court just as much as they were on the offensive side. Zion produced 1.8 blocks per game in his freshman campaign and 2.1 steals per game – both of which were in the Top 5 in the ACC per College Basketball Reference.
Similarly, his block rate of 5.8 percent was 6th in the ACC and his steal rate of 3.9 percent was 2nd in the ACC – which, just so we have it, is the best conference in NCAA men’s basketball.
Zion leverages his absolutely bonkers leaping ability to affect shots all over the floor, and he is able to use his sterling foot speed and wonderful anticipation to jump passing lanes, smother defenders on the ball and provide help side blocks in the blink of an eye.
Simply watching one game of Zion Williamson play in college is enough to make it clear that he is a brilliant defensive player, and one that the Atlanta Hawks must hope they can attain in the 2019 NBA Draft.
Zion Williamson is a transcendent basketball player that the Atlanta Hawks should do everything in their power to draft in the 2019 NBA Draft. If they do, good things will await the franchise in the near future.