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All-Star 2021 Recap: Zion Williamson's NBA All-Star Game Debut

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Zion Williamson talks about his first NBA All-Star Game experience | 2021 NBA All-Star

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Jim Eichenhofer

Based on the way Zion Williamson’s teammates operated during the 2021 NBA All-Star Game on Sunday night, they may be a bit jealous of New Orleans guards. Pelicans backcourt players like Lonzo Ball, Eric Bledsoe, Nickeil Alexander-Walker and Kira Lewis Jr. get to spend the entire NBA season throwing alley oops to the 6-foot-7 phenom, instead of just one game.

Team Durant players immediately took advantage of their rare opportunity to toss lobs to Williamson, repeatedly sending the first-time All-Star skyward to try to throw down dunks. Much like in his “day job” with the Pelicans, Williamson was at the rim constantly during his All-Star debut, finishing with 10 points on five baskets in the paint. He shot 5/9 from the field and logged 14 minutes of playing time.

“I think all of them came up to me and were like, ‘If you’re running, we’re going to put (the ball) up there,’ ” a smiling Williamson said of teammates’ stated desire to connect with him on soaring slams.

Team LeBron notched a 170-150 victory over Williamson’s Team Durant. The winning club was led by Kobe Bryant MVP award recipient Giannis Antetokounmpo, who scored 35 points on perfect 16/16 shooting.

Williamson uncharacteristically had some difficulty in the first quarter converting on a couple of the alley oops. He joked afterward that there were a few whistles that could’ve come at the offensive end.

“At first, I don’t know what was going on, why I was missing my dunks,” the second-year pro said, before laughing. “I think I got fouled on a couple, but it doesn’t really matter. It was a great experience, just being out there and having the privilege of being an All-Star.”

Williamson made a surprise All-Star start, after Team Durant’s Joel Embiid was ruled out of action earlier Sunday due to COVID contact tracing (as was the case for Ben Simmons of Team LeBron). Philadelphia’s Doc Rivers selected Williamson to replace Embiid, a decision relayed to Williamson in his Atlanta hotel room.

“It meant a lot,” he said of starting in his first All-Star appearance. “It happened for certain reasons obviously, because of players not here, but it’s still an honor for the coach to select me as a starter. I’m going to enjoy those moments and go celebrate it with my family.”

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Zion Williamson skies for 10 points in his NBA All-Star debut

UPDATE: Zion Williamson will replace Joel Embiid as an All-Star starter for Team Durant. The NBA announced the change after Williamson's media availability was completed this morning.

From the moment he entered the NBA in 2019, Zion Williamson has emphasized the importance of family to him. Despite limitations on the way the 2021 All-Star Game will be held Sunday in Atlanta – the event is not open to the public, so there won’t be a sold-out crowd – that’s one reason the 20-year-old was all smiles this morning. In a Zoom meeting with media members, Williamson noted that each NBA All-Star was allowed to have a small number of guests at the game, which for him will include his immediate family.

“I’m very grateful for that,” he said. “In my opinion, it’s still a great experience, because I at least get to share it with family members I grew up with in the household. I’m going to have a good time and just enjoy myself.”

Williamson’s first All-Star appearance will take place in Atlanta’s State Farm Arena, roughly 175 miles from where he played high school basketball in Spartanburg, S.C. Although there won’t be hordes of Williamson fans traveling south from the Carolinas to witness his debut in the midseason showcase, his brother, Noah Anderson, will be in attendance.

“Come on, you know this,” a smiling Williamson said, when asked if his kid brother is coming to the All-Star Game. “Noah’s the man! You know he’s going to be there.”

Williamson will also be joined on Team Durant by two familiar faces with ties to his college background. A total of three Duke University products were chosen as 2021 All-Stars – Williamson, Brooklyn guard Kyrie Irving and Boston forward Jayson Tatum – and all of the Blue Devils ended up on the same roster, picked Thursday by Brooklyn forward Kevin Durant. Incidentally, Durham, N.C., is roughly a 5 1/2-hour drive to Atlanta.

“I mean, that’s dope,” Williamson said of having a pair of All-Star teammates who also played for Mike Krzyzewski. “You obviously know about The (Duke) Brotherhood. For all three of us to be on the same team, that’s dope. We all shared a college experience at Duke, at different time periods. Whenever I catch up with those guys, it’s always great.”

The weight of Williamson’s All-Star status and achievement began to sink in for him while being congratulated by opposing players at each game New Orleans played since the Feb. 23 announcement on TNT. The 6-foot-7 forward indicated that the moment it truly became real was when he saw his mother Sharonda after arriving home from the Pelicans’ practice facility and she mentioned the honor.

As he prepared to play in his first All-Star Game and experience the unprecedented one-day format for festivities, Williamson noted that he’ll keep some advice he received from his family in mind as the day unfolds.

“It’s a lot to take in for sure,” he said of being a first-time All-Star. “But the best thing I can do right now is what my parents told me: Enjoy the moment, don’t let a moment pass without you enjoying it. I’m just going to enjoy it moment by moment.”

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With family on hand, Zion Williamson plans to enjoy his unique NBA All-Star Game debut

Amid its rotation of assorted commercials on repeat, for weeks NBA League Pass has shown the same 30-second highlight package of Zion Williamson athletic layups and soaring alley oop dunks – regardless of which team’s broadcast is airing. That means that even on the nights when the New Orleans Pelicans aren’t playing, basketball fans are still seeing Zion.

En route to earning his first NBA All-Star selection in 2020-21, Williamson at times seems to be everywhere. At 20, he’s already accumulated a long list of sponsors (Gatorade, Jordan Brand among others) that have him appearing in his own popular TV ads. He’s elevated the Pelicans to not only League Pass favorites, but a team granted 28 national TV appearances during the 72-game schedule.

This weekend, get ready for more Zion. The second-year pro will be a Western Conference All-Star reserve in Sunday’s game (7 p.m., TNT), after being voted in by the conference’s 15 head coaches, despite extremely formidable competition for roster spots. Williamson is the only current second-year NBA player tabbed, as well as the youngest All-Star selection (20 years, 244 days on Sunday) since LeBron James in 2005.

“As a kid, seeing all of those big events, like the All-Star Game, or whether it was college, high school, McDonald’s All-American, Jordan Brand (games), all those games, whenever you see those (players) in it, you were like, ‘It’s just an honor to be in it,’ ” Williamson said of being chosen. “You wanted to work hard and have a chance to be able to make the game. So yeah, it was something I dreamed about growing up.”

Though All-Star voting results aren’t made public, based on recent praise from some of the West’s head coaches, it should be no surprise that Williamson made the team, just 59 games into his pro career. He’s averaging over 25 points in 2020-21, while shooting over 60 percent from the field, a rare combination.

“It’s hard to imagine being better at the rim,” Utah’s Quin Snyder said, prior to Williamson posting 26 points and 10 rebounds in Monday’s upset win over the Jazz. “He’s such a great finisher and so good in the paint.”

“Zion is an incredible athlete,” Portland’s Terry Stotts said. “You try to keep him out of the paint, away from the rim. You see what he’s been doing lately, shooting at an unbelievable rate, mainly because he gets to the basket.

“For a young player, learning the league, learning what to expect, there is a lot to take in as a rookie and he battled some injuries as well (last season). I think what you’re seeing now is some experience and his game is evolving.”

Williamson has made improvements in virtually every statistical category compared to his rookie season, including in categories that can’t be attributed to his increase in minutes per game, such as free throw percentage.

“He’s doing so many things and playing in so many situations,” Snyder said of Williamson’s continually expanding game and versatility. “There’s more variety, and that makes it even more difficult to guard him.”

In three head-to-head games against Snyder’s Jazz club, Williamson averaged 28.3 points on 66 percent shooting. The Utah head coach probably figured he was done seeing the star forward as an opponent this season, but not quite: Snyder is the head coach for Team LeBron, meaning he’ll be matched up against Team Durant member Williamson one more time Sunday evening.

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Zion Williamson's talent, improvements earned him first All-Star berth despite tough competition in West

Captains LeBron, Durant select All-Star reserves

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Pelicans.com

The NBA announced earlier today that Pelicans second year forward Zion Williamson and guard Nickeil Alexander-Walker have been named to the U.S. and World Rising Stars teams, respectively. The distinction marks the second time the two teammates have been named Rising Stars, having both earned the honor during their rookie seasons in 2019-20.

A native of Spartanburg, South Carolina, Williamson, is averaging 25.5 points on .614 shooting from the field, 7.2 rebounds and 3.4 assists, ranking first among all second-year players in points per game while holding the highest field goal percentage among the top 22 sophomore scorers, second in rebounds per game, and seventh in assists per game. Williamson has recorded nine of the 21 30-point performances among second-year players, the most of any sophomore. The Duke University product has been selected to play in the 2021 NBA All-Star game, the first of his career.

Williamson is joined on the U.S. Team with Memphis Grizzlies guard Ja Morant; Charlotte Hornets guard LaMelo Ball; Minnesota Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards; Sacramento Kings guard Tyrese Haliburton; Miami Heat guard Tyler Herro; Atlanta Hawks forward De'Andre Hunter; San Antonio Spurs guard/forward Keldon Johnson; Denver Nuggets forward Michael Porter Jr.; and Golden State Warriors center James Wiseman.

Alexander-Walker, a native of Toronto, Ontario, has appeared in 27 games this season, averaging 8.0 points, 2.3 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 1.0 steals, ranking fifth in scoring among second-year international players. On January 13, Alexander-Walker scored a career-high 37 points in his second career start during a road games against the LA Clippers, becoming just the ninth player since 1970 to score at least 35 points in one of their first two career games in the starting lineup.

Alexander-Walker is joined on the World Team with four fellow Canadians; New York Knicks guard/forward RJ Barrett, Grizzlies forward Brandon Clarke (Canada); Oklahoma City Thunder guard Luguentz Dort (Canada) and Warriors guard Mychal Mulder (Canada), as well as Heat forward Precious Achiuwa (Nigeria); Washington Wizards forwards Deni Avdija (Israel) and Rui Hachimura (Japan); Nuggets guard Facundo Campazzo (Argentina); and Oklahoma City guard Théo Maledon (France).

NBA Rising Stars, the league’s annual showcase of premier young talent during NBA All-Star, will not be played this year due to the limitation of having All-Star events all on one night.  To recognize deserving players, the NBA kept the custom of having the league’s assistant coaches vote for Rising Stars rosters, which comprise 10 first- and second-year NBA players from the United States (U.S. Team) and 10 first- and second-year NBA players from outside the United States (World Team).

In voting for the Rising Stars rosters, assistant coaches selected four frontcourt players, four guards and two additional players at any position for each team.  Voters selected a minimum of three first-year NBA players and three second-year NBA players for each team.  The assistant coaches were not permitted to vote for any player on their team.  Each of the league’s 30 teams submitted one ballot per coaching staff.

Williamson and Alexander-Walker join Chris Paul and Anthony Davis as the only players in franchise history to participate in the Rookie Challenge/Rising Stars Game two times.

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Zion Williamson and Nickeil Alexander-Walker named to NBA Rising Stars teams

Like his rookie campaign, Zion Williamson’s second NBA season has included numerous highlight-reel plays and various significant statistical achievements that only he may be capable of producing. Unlike his debut in the pros, Williamson has been free from injury or any restrictions on his playing time in 2020-21, appearing in 29 of his team’s first 30 games. It was difficult to narrow down the excellence that resulted in him being named an NBA All-Star for the first time Tuesday evening, but here’s a countdown of his top 10 performances from the first half of this season so far:

Top 10 Zion Williamson Game #10: Dec. 25 at Miami

Parts of the country were still opening presents as Williamson registered his first 30-10 game of the season on Christmas. He helped debut the Pelicans’ brand-new City Edition uniforms in style, with 32 points and 14 rebounds.

Top 10 Zion Williamson Game #9: Jan. 29 vs. Milwaukee

New Orleans knocked off the team with the NBA’s best regular season record from each of the past two seasons, 131-126. Williamson’s all-around prowess against the Bucks consisted of 21 points, nine rebounds and seven assists.

Top 10 Zion Williamson Game #8: Feb. 9 vs. Houston

New Orleans outscored Houston by 29 points with Williamson in the game, which was also the final margin in a Pelicans domination (130-101). His 20-point, five-rebound, seven-assist game helped New Orleans break it open in the second half by virtue of a 67-51 advantage.

Top 10 Zion Williamson Game #7: Feb. 12 at Dallas

In a game that produced a total of 273 points, the 20-year-old set his career high with 36 points, doing so in nearly unprecedented fashion efficiency-wise. He made all 14 of his attempts from two-point range, missing only a three-point shot against the Mavericks.

Top 10 Zion Williamson Game #6: Feb. 17 vs. Portland

Five days after scoring a career-best 36 against the Mavs, Williamson matched that output vs. the Trail Blazers. He gave the Pelicans a one-point lead by sinking two clutch free throws with 26 seconds left.

Top 10 Zion Williamson Game #5: Jan. 17 at Sacramento

Facing a Kings team with a roster that includes a couple fellow Duke products and frontcourt players, Marvin Bagley and Jabari Parker, Williamson was a dunking machine, finishing 13/15 from the field and rumbling to 31 points.

Top 10 Zion Williamson Game #4: Feb. 6 vs. Memphis

New Orleans trailed early in the fourth quarter, but a late-game surge turned the divisional matchup into a nine-point victory. Williamson shot 10/14 against the Grizzlies and 9/11 at the foul line, giving him 29 points. Over four career games, he’s averaged 26.8 points when facing Memphis.

Top 10 Zion Williamson Game #3: Feb. 3 vs. Phoenix

Few teams have been able to slow down the Suns lately, but the Pelicans posted a 22-point home triumph. Williamson shot 12/14 from the field and finished with 28 points, seven rebounds and six assists. New Orleans outscored Phoenix by 37 points with Williamson on the court.

Top 10 Zion Williamson Game #2: Feb. 16 at Memphis

One of the best stat lines of his brief career – 31 points, seven rebounds, six assists, two steals – was generated in only 28 minutes of action. He wasn’t needed in the fourth quarter as the Pelicans prevailed in a 31-point rout, improving to 5-0 against the Grizzlies over the past two seasons.

Top 10 Zion Williamson Game #1: Feb. 21 vs. Boston

After a slow start by Williamson and the Pelicans overall, the second-year pro responded big-time in the second half and overtime, converting a go-ahead three-point play in the final seconds of the fourth quarter. The Pelicans secured a memorable, comeback win behind his 28 points and 10 rebounds.

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Top 10 performances so far of 2020-21 for Pelicans All-Star Zion Williamson

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