Zion Williamson

Zion Williamson is a professional basketball player. Zion Williamson is a member of the NBA’s New Orleans Pelicans, where he plays power forward. While playing for the Duke Blue Devils, Zion had impressed his teammates and coach. 

Zion attributes his success to his parents, whom he publicly credits as his inspiration and mentor. He was tragically separated from his biological father when he was a child.

Birth and Parent’s Divorce

Zion Williamson was born on July 6, 2000, in Salisbury, North Carolina, United States of America.

Zion’s biological parents are Sharonda Sampson and Lateef Williamson.

Lateef was a football player in high school and college.

Sharonda, meanwhile, competed in track and field at Livingstone College when she was younger.

Livingstone College was the couple’s alma mater. They first met and fell in love throughout their college years.

Sharonda worked as a middle school health and physical education teacher after graduating from college.

Sharonda and Lateef’s marriage, on the other hand, did not work out. When Zion was five years old, the couple divorced and separated from each other.

As a result, Zion has little recollection of his biological father. But he owes him a debt of gratitude for ushering in the new era of his life.

In addition, Zion declares on social media that he exclusively loves his biological father. He is not, however, close to Lateef in particular.

Stepfather

Soon after her divorce from Lateef, Sharonda married Lee Anderson. Lee was born in the state of South Carolina. He went to Clemson University there.

Lee was a member of the university’s collegiate basketball squad. Between 1975 and 1978, he appeared in 16 games for the Tigers. Similarly, he had a single point per game average.

Lee was a major contributor to Zion’s victory in the game. Zion also acknowledges the fact in public.

In reality, he was not so good as a player. But he provided Zion a drive and a path in pursuing a career in the game.

Early Mentors

Born from athletic parents, Zion Williamson had athletic attributes in his body and genes. However, the features cannot perform on the field unless they are polished.

Only hard work can make sure the birth talents are appropriately utilized.

Similarly, Zion’s parents made sure that the ability he acquired in his genes won’t turn into a waste. His stepfather helped him to improve his ball-handling and point guard skills.

He was trained from day one to be a guard, that’s why he is so versatile now.

Besides, Zion’s mother had an outstanding role in developing him as a player. Notably, she was the first coach of his career.

Sharonda had good knowledge of shaping a physique and dietary requirements as she taught the related subjects in middle school.

Accordingly, she applied the knowledge to practice with her son.

Training Routines

Sharonda and Lee started pushing Zion to his limits from his early days. Likewise, they used to wake him up at 5:30 am.

Then, they used to take him to a nearby court. The hard training sessions continued until breakfast.

During his high school, Williamson made mixtapes of his wild dunks. Soon, it became an internet sensation. Likewise, a lot of people loved and shared it.

Ultimately, it reached the rapper, Drake. Pleased with the video, Drake posted a photo wearing Zion’s high school jersey on Instagram. Zion was 16 years of age at that time.

This moment inflated neither Zion nor their parents. Their attention and Zion’s commitment to improving never depleted even by a small fraction.

Accordingly, Zion suffered only three defeats in two years in middle school.

Facts of Zion Williamson

Net worth

Zion Williamson’s net worth as of 2022 is around $8 million.

Zion had signed for the New Orleans Pelicans with about $44.2 million for a four-year contract. Moreover, the average salary of the rookie in 2022 is $10 million.

Besides, he has a sneaker endorsement deal with Nike. According to reports, the deal is worth $75 million for five years.

In contrast, Lebron James had a $12.4 million per year contract in his first deal with Nike.

Thus, it is clearly seen that Zion is providing a prosperous life for his parents. They had held his hands when he knew nothing about the game.

Talking about other physical properties of Zion, he owns a historic Mansion worth $950000. Likewise, he drives Mercedes-AMG Duo cars worth millions of dollars.

As a result, they are now beginning to enjoy the fruit of all those commitments and hard work.

High School Career

As a junior in high school, Zion had an average of 36.8 points, 13 rebounds, and 2.5 blocks per game. Remarkably, his talents drew the praise of stars like Stephen Curry.

Moreover, he was included in the All-USA first team by USA Today High School Sports.

For his 2017-2018 high school season, Zion was renowned as South Carolina Mr. Basketball. Then, he joined Duke Blue Lions, where NBA star Kyrie Irving once played.

College Choice

There were several offers from 16 NCAA Division I programs. They included Clemson, Florida, and South Carolina. Later, in August 2016, Duke University offered him a scholarship.

Consequently, he joined them in January 2018 after completing the senior season at high school. However, his stepfather wanted him to join Clemson.

Duke was not the first choice of his stepfather.

Notably, Williamson scored 28 points in his first seasonal game for Duke. Also, he became ACCC Freshman of the Week on several occasions during those times.

Besides, he was the season’s Rookie of the Year and the Player of the Year.

The Duke won ACC Championship with a 73-63 score against the Florida State in 2019. Notably, Zion was named the Most Valuable Player of the match after scoring 21 points.

Later, he played in the 2019 NCAA Tournament with his debut on March 22. Overall, he averaged 22.6 points, 8.9 rebounds, and 1.8 blocks per game.

Draft Selections and NBA Career

Zion’s stepfather Anderson wanted him to sign for the New Orleans Pelicans in the 2019 NBA draft.

Accordingly, the Pelicans drafted him in the first pick. His debut in NBA came in January 2022. It was against the San Antonio Spurs.

Actually, he scored 22 points and seven rebounds in the 18-minute appearance. Similarly, Zion scored a minimum of 20 in ten consecutive games.

Accordingly, he is the first teenager in NBA history to do so. Similar, in a game played against Chicago Bulls, he scored 20 points in six of his eight games.

In a game played against Los Angeles Lakers on March 1, 2020, he scored the career highest 5 points, along with 7 rebounds, in a 122–114 loss.

When playing against Dallas Mavericks on February 12, 2021, Williamson scored a career-high 36 points with a record of 143-130.

This game made him the youngest player in NBA history with 30 points on 90 percent shooting.

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Current Relation with his Parents

To emphasize, Zion Williamson is known for being a mama’s boy.

Likewise, his relationship with his mom has never downgraded by even a small amount.

Besides, he hangs out with his mom whenever he gets time to do so. Moreover, Zion watches cartoons with his mom whenever he visits her.

When we get time alone he’ll come over and we’ll watch the cartoon called Naruto.

Similarly, Zion admits he cried in his mom’s arms when he injured himself against North Carolina. Then, she held her tight and consoled him.

At the same time, his stepfather stands right next to the court during Zion’s games. He cheers and drives Zion during the game.

Likewise, Lee is shown applauding every point Zion earns.

Identically, he has nothing else but affection and memory for this biological father. Lateef resides in Darlington, South Carolina, as per his Facebook profile.