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Andrew LopezESPN
New Orleans Pelican Star Zion Williamson Austin Brown, co-head of basketball at CAA Sports, told ESPN’s Adrian Voinaroski on Saturday.
If Williamson creates an All-NBA Team and wins the MVP or Defensive Player of the Year next season, the Supermax Escalator clause could be triggered and the total transaction value could increase from $ 193 million to $ 231 million. There is sex.
No. 1 overall in the 2019 NBA Draft, Williamson has been a generational talent since he set foot on the NBA floor.
During the rookie season, he shot an average of 22.4 points, 58.3% overall. According to ESPN Stats & Information, Williamson is the second rookie in NBA history, shooting at least 55% from the field and joining Shaquille O’Neal (1992-93) averaging 20 points.
According to a study by ESPN Stats & Information, he was also the first teenager to score 20 points in 10 consecutive games, and achieved that in his 15th career game.
During the 2020-21 season, he averaged 27 points and 7.2 rebounds, shooting 61.1% from the field. His 27.0 points per game was the most player in NBA history for anyone who shot more than 60% off the field during the NBA season.
Williamson was selected as an All-Star during the sophomore season and was also a late choice to start the game. He became the fourth youngest All-Star Starter and joined Kobe Bryant. Lebron James And Magic Johnson.
Williamson’s score increased to 29.6 points per game as he scored at least 30 points in 11 games in the last 20 games of the season. Williamson joined O’Neill in 2001 as the only player in NBA history to play 25 consecutive games, scoring more than 20 points, shooting more than 50% from the field.
By the end of the year, Williamson was the 12th player in NBA history, scoring at least 2,000 points in the first 80 games, according to Elias Sports Bureau. He has become the second player in the last 40 seasons and the first player since Michael Jordan.
Williamson also saw the average assist jump from 2.1 to 3.7 as Pelicans unleashed “Point Zion” under former coach Stan Van Gundy and took on more ball-handling missions. rice field. It is not yet known if he will resume those missions under Willie Green.
Green led Pelican to last season’s Western Conference Play-in Tournament. They played at home against the San Antonio Spurs and against the Los Angeles Clippers to win the playoffs as the eighth seed. Pelican won two games from top-seeded Phoenix Suns and fell to six.
New Orleans started last season 3-16 but finished 36-46 to return to the playoff hunt.Pelican CJ McCollum Prior to the NBA’s trading deadline last season, it sparked the team in a match later in the season.
Williamson, who turns 22 on Wednesday, played only 85 games in the first three NBA seasons, including 24 games during the 2019-20 rookie season. A torn meniscus in his right knee delayed his debut. He broke his right leg and missed the entire 2021-22 campaign.
In May, Pelican officially cleared Williamson and recovered from a leg injury that set him aside. He returned to work in court without restrictions. With McCallum, Brandon Ingram And healthy Williamson Pelican aims to push at the Western Conference next season.
On April 29, when Williamson made his first public comment after a broken leg, he was asked about possible extensions and whether to extend them in New Orleans. He replied, “Of course, I wouldn’t be able to sign it fast enough.”
At a local YMCA event last month, Williamson reiterated his desire to go to New Orleans, saying, “I want to stay here. It’s not a secret. I feel like I was standing on it when I spoke. I will do it. “
