NBA Mock Draft: New Orleans Pelicans Select Zion Williamson From Duke

NBA Mock Draft Pick #1 - Zion Williamson, Forward, Duke

SBNation’s New Orleans Pelicans blog The Bird Writes explains the pick:

Coming off one of the most spectacular freshman campaigns witnessed over the last several decades, Zion Williamson is the perfect antidote to wash away the horrors and disappointment of last season in New Orleans. The Pelicans have been blessed with a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to replace one transcendent star with another. What’s more, Zion is expected to be a natural fit. Anthony Davis, for as great as he is, never exuded that requisite alpha dog mentality on a consistent basis and certainly didn’t have the personality to thrive in such a unique cultural city.

Zanos, on the other hand, was born to stand front and center while conquering worlds. He laid rubbish to the NCAA landscape this past season with a stat line of 22.6 points, 8.9 rebounds, 2.1 assists, 2.1 steals and 1.8 blocks. Need some advanced numbers in your life? How about a 40.8 PER, a 133.3 Offensive Rating, an 86.8 Defensive Rating or a 71.1 percent True Shooting Percentage? And as for Zion’s mentality, “killers kill” has an unmistakably wonderful ring to it, right? The New Orleans Pelicans couldn’t be any happier to kick start their next era with the runaway choice for the first overall pick of the 2019 NBA Draft!