Getty New Orleans Pelicans forward Zion Williamson.
Zionmania has been upon us for many months now and it’s not going to stop anytime soon. The new member of the New Orleans Pelicans and number one overall pick has been a bonified superstar since he started balling at Duke. The 6’7 monster from North Carolina is considered to be the best NBA prospect since LeBron James and he’s looking to turn the Pelicans into a powerhouse in the post-Anthony Davis era.
Now that the draft has finally passed, Zion can focus on getting ready for the season. He’s going to be surrounded with loads of young talent and a rejuvenated fan base. Even if Zion can’t live up to his otherworldly expectations, he’s still going to a lot of butts in seats. New Orleans has embraced the forward and it doesn’t look they have any interest of letting go, even just a tad.
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Pelicans Getting Defensive
Like previously mentioned, Zion Williamson hails from Salisbury, North Carolina. His hometown team, the Carolina Panthers, took to Twitter to congratulate him.
Rooted in the Carolinas!
Good luck Zion 🏀 #NBADraft
The tweet included a picture of a custom made Panthers jersey with Williamson’s name on the back and a handwritten note of congratulations. Seems pretty uncontroversial, right? Wrong. Zion’s new team took to Twitter to call out the Panthers for fixating on their new star and ignoring the moves made by their hometown team, the Charlotte Hornets.
The tweet from the Pelicans Twitter read: “ya know you guys have an NBA team in your city? They had a strong draft last night too, and yet no tweet to them?”
Ouch, talk about petty. The Charlotte Hornets put up a decently reviewed draft. They didn’t have a pick in the top-10, so it’s hard to get too hyped up for that. The Hornets haven’t made the playoffs since the 2015-2016 season. Their only real draw is star guard Kemba Walker who might leave in free agency. Outside of college basketball, North Carolina doesn’t get a lot of fanfare for basketball, so it makes sense why the Panthers would celebrate a hometown legend getting paid his dues.
While there’s certainly nothing wrong with shouting out a hometown hero, it looks like the Pelicans want Zion to embrace New Orleans and leave North Carolina behind. They’ll make a Saints fan out of him yet.
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