The best dunker in the world might be a 16-year-old in Spartanburg, South Carolina. Zion Williamson has become an internet sensation because of his thunderous in-game dunks that send gyms into a frenzy and leave opponents and scouts alike shellshocked by his incredible bounce and power attacking the rim.
Williamson has led Spartanburg Day School to back-to-back state titles on his way to becoming one of the nation’s top recruits for 2018 — he’s ranked No. 3 overall for the Class of 2018 on 247Sports’ Composite Rankings. Williamson’s dunks made him a household name to hoops fans, and his dunk mixtapes are the thing of legend, but he doesn’t want to simply be known as a legendary dunker.
SLAM Magazine’s Adam Figman profiled the high school superstar to get to know Williamson and the small town and school he’s brought to the forefront of the basketball world. Williamson explained how he came to have text conversations with Drake and other celebrities, but also explained that he has one goal: to be the greatest.
“I want to be one of the greatest that’s ever played this game,” Zion said. “I want to have a great reputation—nothing bad. Be a Hall of Famer. Try to win at least three NBA Finals, even though that’s probably nearly impossible, or very hard—but I’ma try. And give back to my community.”
It’s hard for high schoolers to create the same amount of hype in the one-and-done era because there’s at least one year of college separating them from the pros. That means many NBA fans who tune out until it’s time to pay attention to that year’s draft class don’t know a ton about a player until their draft cycle. Williamson, however, is managing to create a rare amount of high school hype for someone two years away from potentially being drafted.
It’s clear that he’s not satisfied with being a YouTube legend or simply following his crazy athleticism at his size that draws comparisons to a young LeBron James to the NBA. Williamson wants to walk in those footsteps of James to the top of the all-time lists. There’s plenty for him to work on and we’ve seen plenty of highly touted high school prospects that have proclaimed to be the “next great one” fizzle out, but it certainly would be fun to see someone of Williamson’s talent achieve his peak.
