Pelicans rookie Zion Williamson dunked so hard at the NBA Rising Stars Challenge he literally broke the rim.
All hail our king Zion Williamson, the rim-wrecker.
I didn’t anticipate spending my Valentine’s Day evening watching the NBA Rising Stars Challenge, but my life choices led me to this moment. I have no regrets because watching Zion Williamson is an experience.
During the first half of the Rising Stars Challenge, the New Orleans Pelicans rookie did what he’s been doing since he made his long-awaited NBA debut. He dominated.
Williamson is making history with more than 200 points scored in his first 10 points, joining a group that includes former No. 1 picks Allen Iverson and Shaquille O’Neal.
And like O’Neal, Zion has the ability to rip a rim right off the backboard. He almost did literally that as the former Duke star made another viral moment.
This isn’t quite to the level of some of the other dunks that helped him gain 2-plus million Instagram followers when he was still in high school in South Carolina. But it’s still pretty badass.
Zion literally tilted the rim. For real, workers had to fix it at halftime because he broke it. No word yet on whether Zion will be charged for the labor and damage.
"There's your rim. It's been Zion'd" 😂 pic.twitter.com/uSMAi8WEJY
— New Orleans Pelicans (@PelicansNBA) February 15, 2020
I’m not sure if the damage was done on this dunk with his former AAU teammate, and Rookie of the Year front-runner, Ja Morant delivering the dime.
Or if it was done on this dunk.
I’m pretty sure it was the first because he really let all his girth hang on the rim for full effect.
Maybe it was a cumulative effect like the backboard only had so many violent dunks in it. Traditional product warranties and lifetimes don’t apply to the 285-pound Zion as his shoe explosion at Duke can attest.
Conventional stats track points, rebounds, assists, steals and blocks, but for Zion, we should consider adding rims wrecked to his box score. Hopefully, he can stay healthy and have a long career tilting rims with his unique brand of powerful dunks.