He gobbled him up.
When watching Zion Williamson guard Notre Dame guard Prentiss Hubb in Duke’s win earlier this week, we saw the future. This defensive play, more than perhaps any of the explosive dunks or silky finishes in the lane, was proof that Williamson is going to have a bright future in the NBA.
Look at how quickly Williamson moves his feet to stay with the much smaller Hubb. Look at the lateral movement. Look at how he uses the length of his arms to deny Hubb space, while never sacrificing position or footwork. Look at how he closes out the play with the block. This is Tony Allen type perimeter defending, from a man who weighs 285 pounds. (I know Duke lists him at 275, but by all accounts they’re slimming him down on paper.)
And it shows exactly why Williamson should be the No. 1 overall pick in the next NBA draft. Even if his jumper doesn’t improve (it is improving), and even if he’s not that gifted a playmaker (he is), his defense alone is franchise lifting.
Hearing “this guy can guard all five positions” is something you hear tossed around about certain players in the NBA, almost all of them key cogs for a franchise. Draymond Green can guard all five positions. He’s been an All Star and a key cog for the dynastic Golden State Warriors.
Zion Williamson weighs 50 pounds more than Green does.
Someone this quick, this explosive, this strong, we just haven’t seen anyone like him since Charles Barkley, and Charles Barkley couldn’t defend like that.
The modern NBA relies on massive amounts of switching on defense. To stop the best in the game, and deal with hand checking rules which make it hard to get aggressive on the perimeter, teams are constantly switching who they cover on defense, passing along men to help defender, doubling when possible, shutting down key areas of the floor. Everyone has to be versatile.
Outside of pure playmaking point guards and a few old school big men centers, everyone in the league is expected to be able to guard a position or two. You have to be strong enough to defend a bigger man, and quick enough to stay with those guys who are smaller than you.
Good defenders can handle someone in the post and keep up with guards on the perimeter. Most will do this with their length or footwork, some will do it with their strength.
Zion can do it all. He can bully centers with his weight advantage (he weighs 45 more pounds than the 7’3″ Kristaps Porzingis) and can close out guards with his speed. We just haven’t seen someone like him in a long time. Again, the closest comp is probably Draymond Green (they’re both around 6’6″), but Green doesn’t have Williamson’s leaping or finishing ability.
There’s so much to love about Williamson. He’s underrated on offense, can make the open pass, has an improving jumper, and the dunks … good lord, the dunks. But it’s the defense that will have teams salivating. When he shut down that guard on the perimeter, that should show NBA teams all they need to see. He’s built for the modern NBA.
