Pelicans Forward Zion Williamson's Monster Alley-Oop Dunk Sent Social Media In A Frenzy
Pelicans star forward Zion Williamson left spectators and prognosticators in awe with his monster two-handed alley-oop dunk on Tuesday night. The spectacular play happened in the fourth quarter of a blowout victory for New Orleans. Naji Marshall stole the ball at midcourt from Nets' guard Cam Thomas and raced downcourt. Behind him was a streaking Zion Williamson, who caught Marshall's behind-the-head pass and threw down a monster two-hand slam. The Brooklyn crowd cheered with excitement, while the Pelicans bench went crazy.
The dunk trended heavily on social media, with TNT Sports in the UK having it as its dunk of the night. Wednesday morning, the major sports outlets praised Williamson's athleticism while saying how great of a shape Zion is in. A recent report from ESPN's Brian Windhorst revealed Williamson had lost 25 pounds since the NBA In-Season Tournament in December. Former Pelican teammate JJ Redick said this version of Zion is the "Duke Zion" that garnered Williamson the No. overall pick in the 2019 Draft.
Williamson revealed postgame that Marshall encouraged him to dunk more, so when he took off with the steal, he knew he would lob the ball back. Zion has had many highlights this season, but maybe none bigger than that. New Orleans has matched their win total from last season, and is in line to win 50 games this year, for only the second time in franchise history. Williamson will get a chance to play in his first career playoff game next month.
