Getty Duke Blue Devils forward Zion Williamson
Duke Blue Devils freshman phenom Zion Williamson has made his fair share of incredible plays thus far during his first (and surely only) collegiate season. While the most popular plays are understandably the rim-rattling dunks, one play he made on Saturday against the Virginia Cavaliers that grabbed attention was different. Specifically, due to the fact that it came on the defensive end.
As Eric Hubbs of Barstool Sports showed, Williamson made a block that was arguably one of the most athletic plays ever. At the very least, it was the wildest display of athleticism in recent memory.
This could be the most athletic thing I’ve ever seen
The play was so incredible (especially in slow motion) that it drew all kinds of reactions from basketball fans. One which stood out and may have summed it up best was a tweet which called Zion’s play “straight out of Space Jam.”
It’s hard to argue with that analysis, and this was just one of the many tweets that sounded off on the big-time defensive play. Here’s a look at a few of the best reactions that poured in after Williamson’s block during the Duke win.
Twitter Reacts to Zion Williamson’s Huge Block
@BarstoolHubbs Good lord. I swear he’s still elevating even after he blocks it
@BarstoolHubbs What even is gravity?
@BarstoolHubbs @Obee1ne I agree I was just thinking to myself how this is way more impressive than any dunk I’ve seen him do and we all know how absurd his dunking ability is
Zion Williamson Has Another Impressive Showing
The Blue Devils pulled away in the second half for an 81-71 win over the No. 3 ranked Cavaliers in what proved to be a fairly well-rounded effort. While RJ Barrett posted an impressive 26 points with seven rebounds and three assists, Williamson was second on the team in scoring with 18 points on 6-of-8 shooting. He also tacked on an impressive number of additional stats to fill up the box score.
Zion’s night wrapped up with five rebounds, five assists, three blocks, and three steals. He and Barrett have continually taken center stage, while fellow freshmen Cam Reddish (17 points) and Tre Jones (13 points, seven assists, six rebounds) also had strong showings. It’s not surprising to see Duke rolling right along with their young and talented core, and this group has the look of a legitimate championship contender this season.
To make the Blue Devils’ 21-2 record even more impressive, they’ve had this level of success while playing with a very short bench. Williamson, Barrett, Reddish, and Jones are all averaging 27.1 minutes or more per game. Jack White and Marques Bolden are both averaging 20.4 minutes per game or more, but after that, the drop-off goes to roughly 13-14 for Javin DeLaurier and Alex O’Connell. No other Duke player has seen more than 5.5 minutes on average this season.
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