Zion Williamson was considered a budding future star in the NBA when he was drafted by the New Orleans Pelicans. However, he has been injured and watched from the sidelines for the majority of the past few years. A lot of NBA analysts opined that his large frame is simply too much for his feet to take.
Recently, the Pelicans star signed a contract extension with the team and seems to have gotten in much better shape. However, NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal feels this need not help Zion dominate. It is important to remember that Shaq and Zion are very similar players despite a significant height difference. Therefore, we should try to understand what O’Neal is saying and draw conclusions on its validity.
Shaquille O’Neal compares how losing weight affected him to Zion Williamson
There are always two sides to a coin or story. In any given situation, people have the tendency to make statements that might not be completely valid. Shaq claims that Zion is now at a disadvantage because he is no longer the same powerful player he once was.
This is quite a bold statement to make at face value, Zion is still a very young man and has many years ahead of him before he reaches his prime. Nonetheless, O’Neal defended his perspective quite well.
“When I started losing weight getting thin, I would get injured more from contact but when I was big and looked out of shape, I was in charge. I was running people over. They were fouling me I couldn’t even feel it. But listen, he looks good. I wish him well but I liked him when he was big Zion.”
Thus, O’Neal concluded that it is unlikely Zion will be as impactful at a smaller size. From a logical standpoint, O’Neal has a case, however, it is also important to take into consideration that Williamson will be much faster and slightly lighter in an ideal world. if that does indeed pan out, then the NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal will be wrong.