Pelicans star Zion Williamson opened up on what makes Kevin Durant such a good trash-talker.
New Orleans Pelicans star Zion Williamson is preparing for his sixth season in the NBA. After enjoying some time in China, where Williamson visited the Great Wall of China, Zion was candid when asked who are the craziest trash-talkers in the NBA are, as he quickly singled out Phoenix Suns superstar Kevin Durant as one of the best trash-talkers in the league.
Noting how each star talks smack on the court, Zion also mentioned Minnesota Timberwolves All-Star Anthony Edwards when asked about the best trash-talkers in the game.
“There are different styles of trash-talking. You have Ant [Anthony Edwards]. Ant talks trash kind of directly,” Williamson said. “You have KD [Kevin Durant], who will talk trash. But KD’s trash-talking is more of like, ‘Dude, I’m just a better hooper,’ and how he goes about it is like you can’t do nothing but respect it.”
“What’s the craziest trash talk you’ve ever heard on the court?”
Zion Williamson: “[Kevin Durant’s] trash-talking is more like, dude, I’m just a better hooper.”
Paolo Banchero: “[Patrick Beverley].”
Luka Doncic: “I can’t say.” 😅
(via @overtime)pic.twitter.com/FkrVHBTWpy
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) September 9, 2024
While Williamson admits he’s never got under his skin personally, he honored a third player in Dallas Mavericks star guard Kyrie Irving.
“He never initiates it from what I’ve seen,” Williamson added. “But whenever someone does talk trash to him, he takes it to another gear; Kyrie [Irving].”
Zion Williamson’s body transformation is going viral
Matthew Hinton-Imagn Images
Durant, Edwards, and Irving may have trash-talked Williamson on the court, but he’s also received his fair share of criticism from folks who have ridiculed his physique throughout the course of his career. Some of these people accuse the two-time All-Star of not keeping himself in good shape, with the belief being that it was a contributing factor in his slow recovery from a foot injury that forced him to miss the entire 2021-22 campaign, and then only play in only 29 games the following year.
However, after coming off a relatively healthy season for the sixth-year star, Williamson appears to be in great shape after a recent photo of him went viral on Instagram. It’s safe to say that Zion looks like he’s ready for the upcoming season.
Williamson played in 70 games last year, the most he’s ever played in a single season. He averaged 22.9 points, 5.8 rebounds, 5.0 assists, and 1.1 steals per game while shooting 57 percent from the floor for the Pelicans, whose season ended in a 4-0 first-round sweep against the Oklahoma City Thunder.
But with the arrival of Dejounte Murray, Pelicans fans have plenty to be excited about heading into the 2024-25 campaign, as he will form a new star trio alongside Williamson and Brandon Ingram. Murray averaged 22.5 points on 45.9 percent shooting for the Atlanta Hawks last season, and Ingram complemented Williamson with 20.8 points on 49.2 percent shooting with New Orleans last year.