The NBA is starting to become a tragedy festival with the spate of injuries. Ja Morant, Damian Lillard, Kevin Durant, and the emerging Paolo Banchero are missing games for the day, with other big names listed as \"Game Time Decisions.\"<\/p>\r\r
Kawhi Leonard has been discussed as a non-performing asset at this point, and rumors start to swirl of a possible trade to recoup the Los Angeles Clippers' losses. But Leonard has already had a career, winning Finals MVP for two different teams. If his best days are behind him, he's had a career most NBA players could only dream of.<\/p>\r\r
Leonard was drafted in 2011, and he will enter his 14th season in the league. That's not bad, since Michael Jordan played 13 seasons with the Chicago Bulls, and that was arguably the greatest career in basketball.<\/p>\r\r
There's another injury-laden career in the NBA that's being cast as a \"what if,\" but the numbers are way less of a Hall of Fame resume.<\/p>\r\r
<\/p>\r\r
Explosive Talent Bombs<\/strong><\/p>\r\r <\/p>\r\r Zion Williamson is an explosive talent. One of the most anticipated draft picks, in the league of Anthony Davis, LeBron James, and Victor Wembanyama. These players were clear, consensus no.1 overall picks, and teams tanked real hard to get these players. There was no debate, hardly a bit of doubt on those draft classes.<\/p>\r\r Williamson was a crowd drawer, an absurd combination of force and athleticism. He was popular enough to draw former US president Barack Obama to Cameron Indoor Stadium. This is where he famously blew out his Nike sneakers mid game.<\/p>\r\r The scene now looks like a dark foreshadowing of his NBA career. Zion Williamson is only playing in his 5th season in the NBA as yet, missing the entire 2021-22 season. In two of those seasons, he played less than 30 games. He played in more than 60 games in only two seasons, and now, he is out with a hamstring injury. Both his hamstrings have been damaged in just this season.<\/p>\r\r Is there still a chance for Zion Williamson to reach his potential? Will he still become the superstar that thrilled basketball audiences and made the Duke Blue Devils a must-watch while he was there?<\/p>\r\r It's a sad question to ask for a player in only his 5th season, but he has hardly completed a season, and is always a ticking time bomb on the court. His long list of injuries leave a feeling that despite the medical advances, his body is compromised.<\/p>\r\r Is it time to let go of the notion that Zion Williamson is a franchise player, a potential best player on a champion team? If he keeps getting injured, it may be time to take stock of what he can still actually do, rather than what was previously expected.<\/p>\r\r <\/p>\r\r RHJ Vs the The Titans<\/strong><\/p>\r\r <\/p>\r\r Speaking of what was expected, I am very grateful to TNT Tropang Giga for fulfilling my prediction that they would wrap up the Governor's Cup in five or six games. The Gin Kings did not seem to have a firm grip on the trophy at any time in the series.<\/p>\r\r How will TNT fare in the Commissioner's Cup, where the imports won't have a height limit? Note that almost all teams are taking advantage of this, and many of the imports will be new. In the meantime, TNT will field Rondae Hollis-Jefferson again.<\/p>\r\r It's ironic that the Tropang Giga will use the same tactic employed by their antagonists, the Barangay Ginebra Gin Kings. The Gin Kings chose to sacrifice adding a few inches by using Justin Brownlee against 6'9 players. Now, it's RHJ's turn.<\/p>\r\r The difference here is that Ginebra was a tall team that had Japeth Aguilar and Christian Standhardinger. RHJ had stints when he played center, but those are usually against 6'6 imports. Will they still thrive in the next conference?<\/p>","article_custom_fields":"{\"\":[\"\"],\"seo_meta_keywords\":[\"\"],\"seo_meta_description\":[\"\"],\"seo_meta_title\":[\"\"],\"sponsored_flag\":[\"\"],\"offer_flag\":[\"off\"],\"featured_article_flag\":[\"\"],\"drupal_json\":[\"{\\\"type\\\":null,\\\"properties\\\":{\\\"PUBLISHED\\\":0,\\\"PROMOTED\\\":0,\\\"STICKY\\\":0},\\\"fields\\\":[]}\"],\"wp_custom_json\":[\"{\\\"type\\\":\\\"\\\",\\\"fields\\\":[]}\"],\"article_tags\":[\"\"],\"show_image\":[\"off\"],\"Disable_Ad\":[\"off\"],\"disable_player\":[\"off\"],\"column\":[\"\"],\"kicker\":[\"\"],\"edel\":[\"\"],\"delu\":[\"\"],\"delt\":[\"Read this in The Manila Times digital edition.\"],\"premium\":[\"off\"],\"Redirect_URL\":[\"\"],\"Registration_required\":[\"off\"],\"background_image\":[\"off\"],\"user_needs\":[\"\"],\"page_number\":\"0\",\"initial_publication\":\"\",\"date_created\":\"2024-11-13 18:06:06\",\"date_modified\":\"2024-11-14 09:48:11\",\"last_modified_user\":\"Sherwin Arnaiz\",\"section_color\":\"#08F304\",\"target_page\":\"0\",\"cxense_metatags\":null}","cms_type":"live","author_id":1000,"section_id":3,"seo_meta_keywords":"Is,Zion,Williamson,done?\u00a0","seo_meta_description":"","seo_meta_title":"Is Zion Williamson done?\u00a0","publish_time":"2024-11-14 03:06:00","related_articles_ids":"","article_tags":"","sub_section_id":0,"visit_count":170,"sponsored_flag":0,"offer_flag":0,"featured_article_flag":0,"media_gallery_flag":0,"video_gallery_flag":0,"highlight_flag":0,"top_story_flag":0,"is_updated":0,"is_old_article":0,"old_article_id":0,"article_byline":"Michael Angelo B. 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Is Zion Williamson done?
BASKETBALL SLEUTH
