Zion Williamson - 2018-19 - Men's Basketball (2024)

Career

• Played his freshman season at Duke and authored one of the great rookie campaigns in NCAA history as the consensus National Player of the Year and a consensus first-team All-America selection
• Was the only player in the NCAA in 2018-19 to average 20.0+ points, 8.0+ rebounds and 2.0+ steals, and the only player that season to average 20.0+ points and shoot .600+ from the field
• Joined teammate RJ Barrett as a consensus first-team All-American, marking the first time in NCAA history a pair of freshman teammates accomplished the feat
• Williamson and Barrett co-led the ACC in scoring, each at 22.6 points per game, becoming the first freshman teammates in NCAA history to each average 20+ points
• Was named ACC Player of the Year and ACC Tournament MVP to become the first freshman in ACC history to achieve both in the same season
• Declared for the NBA Draft on April 15, 2019
• Drafted with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2019 NBA Draft by New Orleans -- the fourth Blue Devilto be taken No. 1 overall allowing Duke to break a tie with Kentucky for the most No. 1 overall picks all-time

2018-19

• Consensus National Player of the Year and consensus first-team All-America selection
• Just the 21st player nationally since 1982 to sweep the six major National Player of the Year awards, and just the fourth Duke player – Christian Laettner (1992), Jason Williams (2002) and J.J. Redick (2006)
• Williamson and Texas’ Kevin Durant (2007) are the only freshmen to have been the consensus National Player of the Year
• Joined teammate RJ Barrett as a consensus first-team All-American, marking the first time in NCAA history a pair of freshman teammates accomplished the feat
• Williamson and Barrett also became the first freshman teammates in NCAA history to each average 20.0+ points in a season, finishing as the ACC co-leaders at 22.6 points per game
• Named ACC Player of the Year and ACC Tournament MVP, becoming the first freshman in ACC history to achieve both in the same season and the 11th Blue Devil
• Named to the ACC All-Defensive Team and was a national finalist for the Naismith Defensive Player of the Year
• Claimed the Karl Malone Award as the nation’s best power forward and the Wayman Tisdale Award as the nation’s best freshman
• Named the winner of the Anthony J. McKelvin Award as the ACC's best male athlete for the 2018-19 season -- the 10th time a Duke men's basketball player has won the award
• Earned six ACC weekly honors during the season
• Finished among the ACC’s top five in seven major statistical categories, including co-leading the ACC in points (22.6 – 15th NCAA) and leading the conference in field goal percentage (.680 – 2nd NCAA) and offensive rebounds (3.5 – 9th NCAA)
• Was second in the ACC in steals (2.12 – 26th NCAA), third in rebounds (8.9 – 44th NCAA), third in double-doubles (14 – 27th NCAA) and fifth in blocked shots (1.8 – 62nd NCAA)
• Finished as the only player in the NCAA to average 20.0+ points, 8.0+ rebounds and 2.0+ steals
• Finished as the only player in the NCAA to average 20.0+ points and shoot .600+ from the field
• He and Barrett were the nation’s highest scoring duo, combining for 45.2 points per game
• Became just the third Blue Devil in history to record 50+ blocks and 50+ steals in a single season, joining Shane Battier, who accomplished it three times, and Shelden Williams
• Averaged 26.4 points over Duke’s seven postseason games, setting a team record for postseason scoring average, and becoming the first Blue Devil in history to score 20+ in each of a player's first seven career postseason games
• Totaled 57 points over his first two NCAA Tournament games, joining Kevin Durant as the highest-scoring freshmen on the NCAA Tournament’s opening weekend
• Averaged 27.0 points and 10.0 rebounds in the ACC Tournament, leading Duke to the program’s record 21st title
• Broke the ACC Tournament scoring record for a freshman with 81 points, surpassing the 78 by North Carolina’s Phil Ford in 1975
• In Duke’s ACC Tournament quarterfinal win over Syracuse, Williamson was 13-of-13 from the field with 29 points, 14 rebounds and five assists – setting both the Duke and ACC Tournament, and tying the overall ACC record, for field goal accuracy
• His .680 field goal percentage for the season ranked second in the NCAA, broke both the Duke and ACC freshman record, and was the second-highest in a season in league history (.697 by North Carolina’s Brandon Haywood in 2000)
• His 35 points against Syracuse on January 14 set Duke’s single-game freshman scoring record
• Set the Duke freshman record for most 25-point games (16), while his 23 20-point games were second-most by a freshman in ACC history (RJ Barrett holds that record with 26)

Duke Canada Tour

• Averaged 29.7 points and was the team’s leading rebounder at 11.3 per game on the Duke Canada Tour in August 2018
• Also chipped in 10 assists, five blocked shots and was tied for the team lead with seven steals
• Had a pair of double-doubles with 36 points and 13 rebounds against McGill, and debuted with 29 and 13 against Ryerson
• Shot .645 (40-62) from the field over Duke’s three exhibition wins in Canada

High School

• Five-star recruit ranked as the No. 2 overall prospect in the class of 2018 by ESPN
• Honored as a McDonald’s All-American• Represented Team USA at the Nike Hoop Summit
• Rated as the No. 5 overall prospect and the No. 3 small forward in the class by Rivals.com
• Ranked No. 5 overall and the No. 1 power forward in the 2018 recruiting class by Scout.com
• Ranked No. 5 overall and the No. 1 power forward in the 2018 24/7 Sports composite list
• Led Spartanburg Day School to three consecutive South Carolina Class AA state championships
• Averaged 36.4 points, 11.4 rebounds and 3.5 assists during his high school career
• Racked up 37 points, 17 rebounds and six blocks in the 2018 state championship game and 51 points in the 2017 edition
• Named by USA Today to the 2017 and 2018 American Family Insurance All-USA Boys Basketball First Team
• Led the USA Red Team to the 2017 Adidas Nations Championship

Personal

• Full name is Zion Lateef Williamson
• Born on July 6, 2000, in Salisbury, S.C.
• His mother is Sharonda Williamson and stepfather is Lee Anderson
• Has a brother, Noah
• His mother ran track at Livingstone College, and his stepfather played basketball at Clemson

(updated June 2019)

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