AS ZION WILLIAMSON began to dribble up the court late in the first half of the New Orleans Pelicans’ match-up with Melbourne United at Rod Laver Arena on Friday night, there was a collective pulse-quickening around the stadium.
Williamson, who when healthy, is the most unstoppable force in the NBA, put his head down as he began weaving in and out of defenders, before lengthening his stride in preparation for what the packed crowd hoped would be one his signature thunderous dunks.
@pelicansnba
Alas, the Melbourne United defence managed to put some bodies in front of Williamson – akin to putting pebbles in front of a freight train or English rugby players in the path of Jonah Lomu back at the Rugby World Cup in South Africa in 1995. To the credit of the United defence, they managed to ensure Williamson didn’t have clear passage to the basket. But they couldn’t stop him scoring, as the former Duke star contorted his body to lay the ball in off the glass. Williamson seemed miffed afterwards, as he did for much of the night by non-calls from the refs – it was clear he wanted to put on a show for Aussie fans.
Williamson would later complete an alley-oop that threatened to blow the retractable roof off the arena and while he only played 15 minutes in all, for 15 points, those minutes were quality ones. ‘We Want Zion’ chants began in the final minutes of the game, Williamson even rising from the bench before breaking into a broad grin and planting his arse back down. This is a preseason game, after all, and the Pelicans were not going to risk their most prized and fragile asset getting injured – as he is want to do – no matter how much the Victorian governed might be paying them to play here.
Jordan Poole – @pelicansnba
The night was yet another feather in the cap for Victoria’s sport and tourism industries, marking the first time the NBA has played preseason games in Australia. The anticipation, which had been building all day at the Bounce Nation Fan Zone outside the arena, continued to grow as patrons poured in.
They were joined by visiting NBA ambassadors and former championship-winning teammates, Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett, with Harry Connick Jnr adding some heavyweight celeb sizzle as he sat court side. Yet there was no doubt who the crowd had come to see: Zion. Correction, skinny Zion.
If you’re not familiar with the Zion story, well, it’s a familiar one. The much vaunted and subsequently maligned Pelicans star was the prince who was promised, the most hyped draft pick since LeBron James – at least until Victor Wembanyama came along.
Unfortunately, Williamson’s career to date has been a tease in which the rim-rattling forward offers glimpses of his otherworldly talent and absurd athleticism, only for injury to bring him back down to earth. In six seasons in the NBA, Williamson has played just 214 games. When he’s healthy, he’s a top 10 player. His ability to drive from outside the right shoulder through traffic to the left block is one of the most formidable and inevitable sights in the NBA. The defence knows exactly what he’s going to do, yet there’s not a damn thing they can do to stop him.
Zion Williamson – @pelicansnba
The problem is that Williamson’s athletic gifts have hitherto been housed in the incongruous frame of an NFL linebacker. At his heaviest he’s tipped the scales at 130-plus kg, while boasting a near 40-inch vertical leap – yes, he’s a video game character brought to life. But the heady mix puts incredible strain on Williamson’s joints and ligaments.
As the The Ringer’s Seerat Sohi wrote of Williamson: “What if his fate was written into his very name? Zion: the highest point, the promised land, some mythical utopia. The good place. The place that cannot be. Zion, famous enough to go by just his first name since he turned 16, thanks to dunks that made it feel like you were watching a refrigerator get Jordan-esque hang time. Zion was a flying contradiction who captured our imaginations because the existence of the impossible suggests even more expansive possibilities.”
Skinny Zion may be another tease. But on this night, at least, Williamson looked sensational: ripped, springy and, if the way he bitched at the refs all night is anything to go by, locked in.
He had to be for Melbourne United seemed to forget they were playing in an exhibition game, going all out to embarrass their fancied foes. Young Dash Daniels was tenacious on defence and regularly drove into the lane for pick-and-pops – he looks like he’ll soon follow brother Dyson into the NBA.
The Pelicans managed to keep a 10-point buffer for most of the night, before United closed the gap to just four points with under three minutes remaining. Then, the Pelicans seemed to nod and stroke their chins, before steadying the ship, running out winners, 107 to 97.
Rod Laver Arena likely hasn’t seen a more raucous crowd outside a Foo Fighters concert. Tones and I kept the mood going at half-time, while later Harlem Globe Trotters veteran, Sweet Lou Dunbar, buoyed the crowd with his gravelly exaltations.
I’d met Dunbar – who’d advised me not to quit my day job after observing my shooting form – earlier in the day at Courtside Melbourne, a near-hectare slab of hoops heaven in Port Melbourne. There I engaged in some shooting drills with the Globetrotters, under the guidance of former Boomer and NBA player Dave Andersen, who was encouraging, and Dunbar, who wasn’t. Having watched the Globetrotters back in the late ’80s as a kid, it was a thrill to trade baskets with them, particularly in such a premium space.
Facilities like Courtside Melbourne and indeed, the arrival of NBA teams on our shores, is perhaps a sign of the increasingly rude health of basketball in Australia, particularly in Melbourne, which has always been the sport’s unofficial home.
NBL supremo Larry Kestelman, who sat court side between Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett, is surely ecstatic with the current the state of the game in Australia and was no doubt thrilled by the success of NBA X NBL Melbourne. If it becomes a regular fixture, as it surely will, the game may one day get back to the boom times of the early ’90s.
That would be the promised land for the NBL, making it fitting that on this glorious evening a man called Zion, whose career has endured a similarly tumultuous trajectory, did his part in helping the league get a step closer to returning there.
Plan a hoops holiday in Melbourne
Melbourne is the home of hoops in Australia. If you’re in town be sure to hit these spots:
Get the drop
Courtside Melbourne:
Courtside Melbourne should be the first stop on any hoops-head’s trip to Melbourne, with state-of-the-art facilities and an immersive retail experience offering exclusive apparel and sneaker drops you can’t get anywhere else in the country.
Work on your game
Hoop City
While you’re at Courtside Melbourne you might want to get some shots up at Hoop City. Founded in 2020, it currently has four facilities located across Victoria (Cheltenham, Geelong, Eltham and Carrum Downs), and is perfect for everyone from beginners to seasoned pros and grizzly vets, with a range of products and services tailored to the needs of players, coaches, and fans alike. It’s ‘Hoop City U’ program is the only NBL-accredited development program in the country.
Find a jersey
NBA Store Melbourne
A one-stop shop for all things NBA, stop by the NBA Store Melbourne to pick up team apparel, jerseys, headwear, collectibles and hardgoods.
Watch the pros
NBL at John Cain Arena
Melbourne is the only city in Australia to boast two NBL teams – Melbourne United and Southeast Melbourne Phoenix, both of whom took part in the NBA X NBL Melbourne series. Both play their games in the John Cain Arena at Melbourne Park, just a 15 minute walk from Fed Square. Find tickets here.
For help planning a trip to Victoria, visit here.
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