Many great basketball players have played for Duke University. The traditional college has won five NCAA championships since 1991, making it one of the top tiers of college basketball. New Orleans Pelicans star Zion Williamson only played one year at Duke, but made an indelible impression during his time there.
Williamson was already a star before he even set foot on campus. His viral high school videos at Spartanburg Day High School made him an internet sensation and made him the top recruit in 2018. He ultimately chose Duke and his fame only rose from there.
While at Duke, he averaged 22.6 points, 8.9 rebounds and 1.8 blocks per game. His PER (Player Efficiency Rating) of 40.8 is the highest single-season rating by a college player since statistics began tracking in 2009. Williamson won the Freshman of the Year Award, the National Player of the Year Award and was the uncontested No. 1 pick in the upcoming NBA Draft.
Another former Duke freshman phenom, Paolo Banchero, was recently asked to name his top five Duke players of all time, and understandably, Williamson was on the list. In his only year at Duke, Banchero won ACC Rookie of the Year and was named to the All-American team. Like Williamson, he was the number one prospect in the NBA.
Banchero certainly had a fair number of Duke greats to choose from on his list, but settled on Williamson, JJ Redick, Jayson Tatum and Jahlil Okafor. Many people will wonder when reading the list where greats like Grant Hill or Christean Laettner went, since they won multiple championships at Duke. They also played all four years, while players like Tatum and Irving only stayed for one season.
It’s important to remember that Banchero is only 21 years old and wasn’t even born when Hill and Laettner played for Coach K at Duke. A recent article from CBSSports listed the best players to play for legendary coach Krzyzewski during his 42 years. Williamson came in at No. 4 on that list, just behind Laettner, Hill, and Jay Williams. Any way you look at it, Zion is among the best to ever wear the Blue Devils uniform.
Williamson is trying to repeat that dominance in the NBA as he enters his sixth season this year. Injuries severely hampered his potential early in his career, but he is coming off the healthiest season of his career, having played 70 games last year. New Orleans gave him a max rookie extension worth $197 million in guarantees in 2022.
Talent was never the issue for him, it was just whether he could stay healthy enough. The Pelicans are banking on him staying healthy so they can move further up the Western Conference than they have. If he can make New Orleans a contender, the Pelicans will count him among the top guys.
