Like the rest of us, New Orleans Pelicans forward and reigning No. 1 overall pick Zion Williamson sat down to watch The Last Dance in April and May while stuck at home. Williamson was asked about what he gleaned from the ESPN documentary during a virtual press conference on Thursday, and the Jordan Brand athlete couldn’t keep the smile from his face.
Zion on what he took away from #TheLastDance pic.twitter.com/lIO5Ta4LCO
— New Orleans Pelicans (@PelicansNBA) July 2, 2020
“You saw his true love he had for the game, his passion, and that’s why he is who he is,” Williamson said, adding that the film only reinforced the respect he’s always had for Jordan as a competitor.
“He just showed his love for the game, his drive of, he felt like if someone could do something close to as good as he could, he wanted to dominate,” Williamson said. “It’s something to look at man, that’s all I can say.”
Throughout the documentary, many of Jordan’s herculean accomplishments were rehashed, from his 63-point playoff game against Boston to the flu (or bad pizza) game against Utah in the NBA Finals. Williamson hasn’t had many such moments yet, but his competitiveness is clearly among his best qualities, and there aren’t many better athletes to study from a mindset standpoint than Jordan. Maybe it’s a good thing Williamson, with the NBA season on pause, actually had the time to watch The Last Dance like the rest of us.
