Zion Hypometer: 10,000 Reasons It’s Way, Way Up

You don’t see this every day

It was only a scrimmage but 10,000 people showed up for Zion Williamson’s first official performance, a scrimmage for the New Orleans Pelicans, and that’s pretty impressive.

It’s impressive anywhere but in the Crescent City, the Pelicans have long been a red-headed stepchild. The love affair is with the NFL’s Saints.

Clearly though there’s a fascination with the former Duke star. Typically, Williamson deflected attention to the team, as relayed by the New Orleans Times-Picayune:

“I think it shows the love the city has for the Pelicans. For them to take their time out of their schedule and come here and support us for a scrimmage, that means a lot to us. I hope they can keep that same energy throughout the year. And we can just have fun with it.”

That may be, but the city didn't have this kind of love or energy last year.

His exuberant public nature (his private nature is much more reserved) came out several times but especially when he went and sat with the fans for a few minutes after missing a dunk.

Williamson has gone all-in with the city and in return, as we’ve seen at Duke and other places, the love is more than returned.