LeBron James recently popped in to watch Zion Williamson and the Duke Blue Devils take on the Virginia Cavaliers and, as usual, the best basketball player in the world made news while doing so. James pushed back on the notion that he and agent Rich Paul were there “recruiting” Williamson to Klutch Sports but, in addition to those remarks, he also praised the college freshman’s ability on the floor.
On Saturday, Williamson was prompted about those comments and he explained why he “can’t get too starstruck” over praise from James.
Zion Williamson on @KingJames publicly praising him this week.
“Hopefully I’ll be competing against him next year, so I can’t get too star struck.” @SportsHubTriad pic.twitter.com/95uxrYNt1D
— Josh Graham (@JoshGrahamShow) February 17, 2019
“It’s definitely an honor that he thinks I’m a decent player,” Williamson said. “But, at the same time, hopefully I’ll be competing against him next year, so I can’t really be too starstruck. Because, at the same time, if I’m competing against him, I’m trying to win.”
Williamson’s sentiment makes sense, even if it is amusing that he virtually declared for the 2019 NBA Draft with a large part of his first season at Duke to come. There is no denying that accolades from James carry more weight than almost anyone in the league right now but, as Williamson notes, he’ll be asked to compete directly with James in the near future and it wouldn’t be wise for him to submit too much as a result.
It is probably fair to think that Williamson looks up to James and it has to be wild for a college freshman to hear glowing comments coming out of the mouth of one of his basketball idols. It does provide a window into Williamson’s thinking, though, and big things are to come for the presumptive No. 1 overall pick.
