Top Pick NBA Draft Pick Zion Williamson Preparing For Rookie Season

The NBA Draft is in the books and now the top picks are focused on their rookie season as professional players. Top pick Zion Williamson is considered to be a ‘sure thing’ for NBA success but there are more questions surrounding the rest of the draft. The top tier of players selected all look pretty good but none are considered to have the high ceiling of Williamson.

Even with the season still several months away there are NBA regular season prop bets that focus on the first year performance of the top draft picks. Over the next few days we’ll look at some of these prop bets and evaluate how the top draft picks should perform in their first NBA season. We’ll start at the top with Zion Williamson:

NBA DRAFT #1 PICK ZION WILLIAMSON

Zion Williamson played only 33 games with the Duke Blue Devils but in that short tenure he showed enough for NBA scouts to tab him as a ‘can’t miss’ prospect. Physically, he’s already a monster at 6’7” 285 pounds. Once we gets on a NBA level conditioning program he should add some more bulk and become one of the most formidable physical presences in the NBA since the days of Shaq and Karl Malone. In his freshman year at Duke he averaged 22.6 PPG and 8.9 RPG. Even in a highly competitive conference like the ACC he quickly became a dominant force which bodes well for his transition to the pro game.

Williamson is a rare blend of speed and strength and there are a variety of ways for him to best leverage his skills in the NBA. He’ll have plenty of opportunity to do so with the New Orleans Pelicans who have quickly gone from NBA laughing stock to one of the most intriguing teams in the league. The Pelicans not only landed Williamson but brought in a haul from the Los Angeles Lakers in the trade for disgruntled power forward Anthony Davis. Davis now gets to play with LeBron James but in return the Pelicans brought in some serious young talent that should only serve to compliment the skills of Williamson.

Brandon Ingram was one of the Lakers’ most dependable scorers last year before a season ending bout of deep vein thrombosis in his arm. He’ll serve to take some of the scoring load off of Williamson and provide a dependable escape valve out of double teams. Also part of the trade–point guard Lonzo Ball. Ball was often overshadowed by his blowhard dad but is a legit talent. He’s a rarity in today’s NBA–a ‘pass first’ point guard that prioritizes getting his teammates involved in the offense. He’s still a ‘work in progress’ himself but should come along quickly outside of the Lakers’ pressure cooker and with so much young talent around him. He’s got it all–passing skills, court vision and an uncanny sense of knowing where his teammates are and where they want the ball.

Williamson will begin the 2019-2020 season as the Pelicans #1 scoring option and barring injury he should easily go ‘Over’ the 18.5 PPG in his rookie year prop bet. The rebounds per game prop is a little less certain. He’s a solid rebounder but the Pelicans drafted 6’11” Jaxon Hayes out of Texas to do a lot of the ‘dirty work’ inside. Williamson might produce similar rebounding numbers this year as last year which will put him on the ‘Under’ of the rebounding prop.

BET ZION WILLIAMSON OVER 18.5 POINTS PER GAME IN 2019-2020 NBA REGULAR SEASON -120

BET ZION WILLIAMSON UNDER 9 REBOUNDS PER GAME IN 2019-2020 NBA REGULAR SEASON -120

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