During the season, Williamson tied Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's record for the longest streak of at least 20-point games on 50-percent shooting within his first two seasons since the shot clock era in 1954–55. The streak eventually grew to 25 consecutive games, surpassing Hall-of-Famers Wilt Chamberlain and Karl Malone while tying Shaquille O'Neal's record of 25 consecutive such games, with no other player having had a longer streak since the three-point era in 1980; his streak of 20-points games on 50-percent shooting and attempt to surpass O'Neal's record ended in a 139–111 loss to the Brooklyn Nets on April 7.
Williamson finished his rookie season averaging 22.5 points on 58.3 percent shooting from the floor, 6.3 rebounds, and 2.1 assists per game. He ranked first among all rookies in points per game, second in rebounds per game and first in offensive rebounds per game. He became the first rookie since Michael Jordan to post 16 20-point games within their first 20 contests while also logging the highest scoring average through his first 24 career NBA games since Jordan in 1983. On September 15, Williamson was named to the NBA All-Rookie First Team.
Williamson returned from injury on March 14, posting 29 points, 14 rebounds, and 5 steals in an 84–72 win over Syracuse in the quarterfinals of the ACC tournament. He shot 13-of-13 from the field, marking the best shooting performance in school and tournament history, while tying the record for the best shooting performance in ACC history. Williamson also became the first Duke player to record at least 25 points, 10 rebounds, and 5 steals in a game since Christian Laettner did so in 1992. The next day, he scored 31 points (including the game-winning shot) to help Duke defeat North Carolina, 74–73, in the ACC Tournament semifinals. After posting 21 points in a 73–63 victory over Florida State in the championship game, Williamson was named ACC Tournament MVP, becoming the sixth freshman to win the honor.
On July 6, 2000, Williamson was born in Salisbury, North Carolina to Lateef Williamson and Sharonda Sampson. Lateef Williamson was a football defensive lineman at Mayo High School in Darlington, South Carolina, who was a High School All-American in 1993 and had committed to NC State before transferring to Livingstone College. Sampson was a sprinter at Livingstone and became a middle school health and physical education teacher. She named Williamson after the biblical location Mount Zion near Jerusalem, taking her grandmother's advice to name him "something extra special." When Williamson reached two years of age, following the death of his maternal grandmother, his family moved to Florence, South Carolina. By the time he was five years old, his parents had divorced. His mother later married Lee Anderson, a former Clemson college basketball player. Williamson is Baptist.
Zion Lateef Williamson (born July 6, 2000) is an American professional basketball player for the New Orleans Pelicans of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He plays the power forward position. Following a freshman-year stint with the Duke Blue Devils, Williamson was selected by the Pelicans with the first overall pick in the 2019 NBA draft. He was named to the NBA All-Rookie First Team in 2020. In 2021, he became the fourth youngest NBA player to be selected to an All-Star game.
On July 23, 2019, Williamson signed a five-year, $75 million shoe deal with Jordan brand. Williamson's deal is the second-largest rookie shoe deal in history, trailing only LeBron James's $90 million rookie deal signed in 2003.
Besides basketball, Williamson played soccer and the quarterback position in football. When he was five years old, he set sights on becoming a college basketball star. At age nine, Williamson began waking up every morning at 5 a.m. to train. He competed in youth leagues with his mother Sharonda Sampson coaching and played for the Sumter Falcons on the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) circuit, facing opponents four years older than he was. Williamson later began working with his stepfather to improve his skills as a point guard. He joined the basketball team at Johnakin Middle School in Marion, South Carolina, where he was again coached by his mother and averaged 20 points per game. In middle school, Williamson was a point guard and lost only three games in two years. In 2013, he guided Johnakin to an 8–1 record and a conference title.
Williamson attended Spartanburg Day School, a small K–12 private school in Spartanburg, South Carolina, where he played basketball for the Griffins. Between eighth and ninth grade, he grew from 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) to 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m). In the summer leading up to his first season, Williamson practiced in the school gym and developed the ability to dunk. At the time, he competed for the South Carolina Hornets AAU team as well, where he was teammates with Ja Morant. As a freshman, Williamson averaged 24.4 points, 9.4 rebounds, 2.8 assists, 3.3 steals and 3.0 blocks, earning All-State and All-Region honors. He also led Spartanburg Day to a South Carolina Independent School Association (SCISA) state championship game appearance. In March 2015, Williamson took part in the SCISA North-South All-Star Game in Sumter, South Carolina. By his second year in high school, he stood 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m). In his sophomore season, Williamson averaged 28.3 points, 10.4 rebounds, 3.9 blocks, and 2.7 steals per game and was named SCISA Region I-2A Player of the Year. He led the Griffins to their first SCISA Region I-2A title in program history. In June 2016, Williamson participated in the National Basketball Players Association (NBPA) Top 100 camp and was its leading scorer. In August, he won the Under Armour Elite 24 showcase dunk contest in New York City.
Wofford offered Williamson his first college basketball scholarship when he was a freshman in high school. By the end of his sophomore season, he had received offers from 16 NCAA Division I programs, including Clemson, Florida, and South Carolina. On August 30, 2016, he received a scholarship offer from Duke. Entering his junior season, he was a consensus five-star recruit and was ranked the number one player in the 2018 class by recruiting service 247Sports.
As a junior, Williamson averaged 36.8 points, 13 rebounds, 3 steals, and 2.5 blocks per game. Starting in the 2016–17 season, Williamson was propelled into the national spotlight for his viral highlight videos. In a 73–53 victory over Gray Collegiate Academy at the Chick-fil-A Classic on December 21, he posted a tournament-record 53 points and 16 rebounds, shooting 25-of-28 from the field. On December 30, Williamson recorded 31 points and 14 rebounds to win most valuable player (MVP) at the Farm Bureau Insurance Classic. On January 15, 2017, he received nationwide publicity after rapper Drake wore his jersey in an Instagram post.
In his senior season, Williamson averaged 36.4 points, 11.4 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game. On January 13, 2018, in a nationally televised game at the Hoophall Classic, he scored 36 points as his team lost to Chino Hills High School. On February 17, he posted 37 points, 10 rebounds, and 5 steals, while scoring his 3,000th career point, versus Spartanburg Christian Academy at the SCISA Region I-2A tournament. One week later, Williamson guided Spartanburg Day to its third consecutive SCISA Region I-2A championship after recording 38 points against Trinity Collegiate School.
In a live ESPN telecast on January 20, 2018, Williamson committed to Duke. He explained the decision, stating: "Duke stood out because the brotherhood represents a family. (Mike Krzyzewski) is just the most legendary coach that ever coached college basketball. I feel like going to Duke University, I can learn a lot from him." Duke, who had landed RJ Barrett and Cam Reddish in addition to Williamson, became the first team to land the top three recruits in a class since modern recruiting rankings began. Williamson's stepfather, Lee Anderson, remarked that Clemson lost a "mile-and-a-half lead" in recruiting Williamson.
On November 6, 2018, in his first regular season game with Duke, Williamson scored 28 points on 11-of-13 shooting in 23 minutes in a 118–84 win over Kentucky at the Champions Classic. In that game, he and teammate RJ Barrett each broke the Duke freshman debut scoring record set by Marvin Bagley III. In his following game, a 94–72 victory over Army, Williamson tallied 27 points, 16 rebounds, and six blocks. He became the second player in school history to record at least 25 points, 15 rebounds, and 5 blocks in a game. Williamson was subsequently named both player and freshman of the week in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC).
In his freshman and only season with Duke, Williamson was named ACC Player of the Year, ACC Athlete of the Year and ACC Rookie of the Year. He set the single-game school scoring record for freshmen in January 2019, claimed ACC Rookie of the Week accolades five times, earned AP Player of the Year, Sporting News College Player of the Year recognition, and won the Wayman Tisdale Award.
On January 5, 2019, he had another strong performance versus Clemson, with 25 points, 10 rebounds, and a 360-degree dunk in 22 minutes. Two days later, Williamson earned ACC Freshman of the Week honors for a second time. On January 12, against Florida State, he was poked in the left eye by an opposing player towards the second half and missed the remainder of the game. Williamson returned in Duke's next game, a 95–91 overtime loss to Syracuse, and erupted for 35 points, 10 rebounds, and 4 blocks. He eclipsed the Duke freshman record for single-game points previously held by Marvin Bagley III and JJ Redick. On January 21, Williamson collected his third ACC Freshman of the Week accolade. One week later, he scored 26 points and grabbed 9 rebounds in an 81–63 victory over Notre Dame. By recording nine 25-point games in the season, Williamson set a new Duke freshman record. On February 4, 2019, Williamson was named ACC Freshman of the Week on his fourth occasion, while earning a National Player of the Week distinction from the Naismith Trophy. He had his third 30-point game of the season on February 16, scoring 32 points in a 94–78 victory over NC State. The performance helped him claim his second ACC Player of the Week and fifth ACC Freshman of the Week accolades.
On April 15, 2019, Williamson declared his eligibility for the 2019 NBA draft.
On June 20, 2019, the New Orleans Pelicans drafted Williamson with the first pick in the 2019 NBA draft. On July 1, 2019, Williamson officially signed with the Pelicans. Williamson tore his meniscus on October 13, 2019, during the preseason of his rookie campaign. Williamson made his professional debut three months later on January 22, 2020, in a 121–117 loss to the San Antonio Spurs. He played 18 minutes and finished with 22 points and 7 rebounds, scoring 17 consecutive points in 3:08 minutes during the fourth quarter.
On March 13, 2020, Williamson pledged to pay for the salaries of all the employees of the Smoothie King Center for 30 days during the suspension of the 2019–20 NBA season, which was caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. He was one of several basketball players to help the arena workers.
On February 12, 2021, Williamson scored a then career high 36 points in a 143–130 defeat against the Dallas Mavericks; he finished the game on 14-of-15 shooting from the field, making him the youngest player in NBA history with 30 points on 90 percent shooting. On February 23, 2021, Williamson was selected into his first NBA All-Star Game. On March 21, 2021, Williamson scored 30 points and 6 rebounds in a 113–108 win over the Denver Nuggets.
At various points during his NBA career, Williamson has received criticism in the media from basketball observers who perceive him to be overweight. Prior to the start of the 2021–2022 season, Williamson's weight increased to over 300 lbs. Williamson lost weight in 2022. In 2023, however, retired basketball players Charles Barkley and Shaquille O'Neal each expressed concerns about Williamson's weight. Williamson's 2022 contract extension with the New Orleans Pelicans provides for salary reductions in the event that Williamson fails to maintain his weight and body fat percentage at specified levels.
On July 6, 2022, Williamson signed a five-year rookie extension with the New Orleans Pelicans worth $193 million guaranteed, increasing to $231 million if he made an All-NBA team in the 2022–2023 season. Williamson made his return from injury on October 4, 2022, putting up 13 points, four rebounds, one assist, and one steal in a 129–125 preseason win over the Chicago Bulls.
On October 19, Williamson made his regular season return, putting up 25 points, nine rebounds, three assists, and four steals in a 130–108 win over the Brooklyn Nets. On December 2, Williamson scored 30 points and matched career highs with 15 rebounds and eight assists in an 117–99 win over the San Antonio Spurs. On December 9, Zion put up a then season-high 35 points, along with seven rebounds, four steals, and one block in a 126–117 win against the Phoenix Suns. A final dunk he made in the last seconds of the game caused an altercation between the Pelicans and Suns. On December 12, Williamson was named the NBA Western Conference Player of the Week for Week 8 (December 5–11), his first NBA Player of the Week award. He led New Orleans to an undefeated 3–0 week with averages of 33.0 points and 8.3 rebounds on 70.4% shooting from the field. On December 28, Williamson put up a career-high 43 points in a 119–118 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves. Williamson was sidelined on January 2, 2023, with a hamstring injury. At first, team officials were hopeful that he would be ready to return by the end of January. On January 26, 2023, Williamson was selected for his second NBA All-Star appearance. However, due to his unavailability, Williamson was replaced by Anthony Edwards. On February 13, team officials indicated that Williamson would miss multiple weeks after the All-Star break. Subsequently, team officials confirmed in early April that Williamson would miss the remainder of the regular season. Subsequently, Williamson sat out the Pelicans appearance in their play-in game against the Oklahoma City Thunder, which New Orleans lost, ending their season.
In June 2023, Williamson announced his girlfriend's pregnancy in a baby shower YouTube video with the couple expecting a daughter due in November. This announcement led adult film star Moriah Mills to claim on Twitter that she had a recent affair with Williamson.
On November 29, 2023, Wiliamson recorded 33 points on 11-of-12 shooting from the field, 11-of-12 from the free throw line along with eight rebounds, six assists, and three steals in a 124–114 win over the Philadelphia 76ers.
On February 2, 2024, Williamson put up 33 points, eight rebounds, and a game-winning layup in a 114–113 win over the San Antonio Spurs.