Zion Williamson Goes To New Orleans Pelicans As The NBA Draft's #1 Pick

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Zion Williamson poses with NBA Commissioner Adam Silver after being drafted with the first overall pick by the New Orleans Pelicans during the 2019 NBA Draft at the Barclays Center on June 20, 2019 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement.
Zion Williamson heads to New Orleans.

Master P already said that Zion Williamson will be bigger than Michael Jordan in New Orleans. The Duke University forward has officially been drafted to the New Orleans Pelicans as the number one pick in the 2019 NBA Draft. It's not that much of a shock since that's what's been rumored anyways. He's one of the most promising players to get drafted into the NBA this year and he's been on essentially everyone's radar since his high school days.

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"I didn't think I'd be in the position," Zion said after the announcement. "My mom sacrificed a lot for me. I wouldn't be here without my mom. I just want to thank her. She put her dreams aside for mine."

According to TMZ, his rookie contract is estimated to be worth roughly $45M over the course of four seasons. Clearly, he'll be making even more money with the endorsement deals that will surely be coming in. There was speculation in late May that he signed a deal with Nike after he was spotted training during a private workout in a pair of Nike Kyrie 4s. It's interesting considering his PG 2.5's essentially blowing up on his feet earlier this year. 

Sonny Vaccaro, who was behind Jordan's rookie deal with Nike, suggested that he would cough up $100M for Zion to ink a shoe contract. Nike nor Zion have confirmed that any sort of deal went down. 


About The Author
Aron A. is a features editor for HotNewHipHop. Beginning his tenure at HotNewHipHop in July 2017, he has comprehensively documented the biggest stories in the culture over the past few years. Throughout his time, Aron’s helped introduce a number of buzzing up-and-coming artists to our audience, identifying regional trends and highlighting hip-hop from across the globe. As a Canadian-based music journalist, he has also made a concerted effort to put spotlights on artists hailing from North of the border as part of Rise & Grind, the weekly interview series that he created and launched in 2021. Aron also broke a number of stories through his extensive interviews with beloved figures in the culture. These include industry vets (Quality Control co-founder Kevin "Coach K" Lee, Wayno Clark), definitive producers (DJ Paul, Hit-Boy, Zaytoven), cultural disruptors (Soulja Boy), lyrical heavyweights (Pusha T, Styles P, Danny Brown), cultural pioneers (Dapper Dan, Big Daddy Kane), and the next generation of stars (Lil Durk, Latto, Fivio Foreign, Denzel Curry). Aron also penned cover stories with the likes of Rick Ross, Central Cee, Moneybagg Yo, Vince Staples, and Bobby Shmurda.
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