Zion Williamson Scores Career High 31 Points in New Orleans’ Win Over Portland

This past summer’s number one overall pick in the NBA draft had to wait until January 22nd to make his regular season debut after suffering a torn meniscus in the preseason, but the New Orleans Pelicans’ Zion Williamson is playing in mid season form. On February 11th, Williamson scored a career high 31 points to lead the Pelicans to a 138-117 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers in New Orleans. With nine rebounds to go with his 31 points, Williamson just missed his third double-double of the season. And it’s only his ninth game. He got all that in just 28 minutes; he had missed one game with an ankle injury and was limited in playing time.

Williamson is averaging 21 points, 7.7 rebounds, and 2.3 assists in those nine games. Some are wondering if Williamson could still be the NBA Rookie of the Year despite only playing about half the season (if he remains healthy). Possibly, but Memphis’ Ja Morant, who was picked 2nd overall in the draft, is having an excellent season averaging 17.6 points, 3.5 rebounds, and seven assists per game in 47 games. Let’s see how the rest of the season goes.