A pilgrimage to Zion

The air around the Smoothie King Center hung heavy with anticipation. On this night, a cold Friday in New Orleans, the excitement took the place of an absent wave of southern humidity.

Friday marked the fifth regular-season appearance of Zion Williamson's young NBA career, a home date with Ja Morant and the Memphis Grizzlies. The headline of the night was unquestionably the first career meeting of Williamson and Morant, the top two selections in the 2019 NBA Draft. While Williamson spent the first 44 games of the season recovering from an arthroscopic procedure on his right knee, Morant dazzled, racking up nearly all of the early consideration for the Rookie of the Year award while averaging 17.5 points per game. The matchup loomed as a measuring stick for both dynamic rookies.

To watch Williamson live is an exercise in deception. The rookie forward weighs in at around 285 pounds, lighter than only two other NBA players - Boban Marjanović and Tacko Fall, centers who both stand more than eight inches taller. That size was evident as the 19-year-old limbered, almost awkwardly, out of the tunnel for pregame warmups. It was at that moment that the numerous reels of Williamson's eye-popping explosiveness returned to the forefront of the mind. His athleticism is one that comes bundled in a compact package; a metric ton of TNT stuffed into the frame of a smart car.

Williamson's presence, both in and around the arena, is matched in size only by the Jordan Brand banner that blankets the facade of a parking garage across the street. His New Orleans number 1 jersey (plus sporadic appearances of his Duke number 1 and Spartanburg Day School number 12) infiltrated the city as quickly as Anthony Davis' number 23 dissipated upon the latter's departure for the Los Angeles Lakers in June. There is a palpable excitement about the rookie's future.

Williamson's first score of the night came on a 360-degree finish under the rim, a graceful finish to a sloppy possession that featured four New Orleans offensive rebounds. The next trip down, he scored through contact in transition; though the collision is determined to be a foul on the floor, it is evident early that the rookie is in attack mode. That he was often met by two or more Memphis defenders under the rim confirms the suspicion.

Nearly midway through the opening quarter, the crowd gets what it paid for in a transition alley-oop dunk by Williamson off of an assist from Lonzo Ball. The third-year point guard is in the midst of his first year in the Crescent City, one in which the former second overall pick has blossomed. The possibilities the Williamson-Ball pairing possess has had fans salivating since the former was drafted in June.

With Williamson working to adjust himself into the lineup full-time since his return on January 22, it is apparent that his presence is still somewhat of a shock to the Pelicans' rhythm on the court. Immediately after the rookie's exit from the game with 6:06 remaining in the first quarter, the Grizzles embarked on a 7-0 run fueled by two New Orleans turnovers. Brandon Ingram scored inside to stop the bleeding, however, and the Pelicans built a 31-22 lead by the end of the first.

Williamson returned to start the second quarter, and for a brief moment, was matched up against Morant defensively. A switch separated the two, but it was a striking image of the two players many expect to anchor the league for years to come. Morant, a dynamic guard out of Murray State, has taken on the hopes of the Memphis franchise in his rookie campaign, leading the Grizzlies to a 24-24 record entering the night, good for eighth place in the Western Conference.

The second quarter called Williamson's youth and free-throw shooting, the rookie's two weaknesses, to the floor. There were lowlights -- the 19-year-old got lost under the rim as Jaren Jackson, Jr. hit an open three, followed by a possession where he was beaten off the dribble by Morant. There were also highlights -- Williamson recovered to alter Morant's shot, leading to a miss, and he hit 4 of 6 free throws in the quarter after entering the contest shooting an abysmal 35.3% on the year from the stripe.

After checking out with 5:37 remaining in the second quarter, presumably for the remainder of the first half, Williamson returned less than two minutes later to finish the quarter. A heavy dosage of pace and ball movement led to a 66-59 New Orleans lead at halftime as the rookie racked up 12 points, 2 rebounds and 3 assists in 16 minutes of action.

Out of the half, Williamson was merely a supporting actor to the Jrue Holiday and Brandon Ingram show. While the two combined for 19 points in the third quarter, however, the rookie made his presence known, demanding the attention of defenders on the offensive end and lurking inside the arc on the defensive end. A barrage of corner threes from Ingram, Ball and JJ Redick stretched the lead to 25, and by the end of the quarter, the Pelicans effectively buried any hope of a Memphis comeback.

After taking on a secondary role in the third, Williamson exploded in the fourth. In the first four offensive possessions of the quarter, he went 3-for-6 from the field, controlling the paint with an iron fist. Williamson had been aggressive thus far in the season at attacking the rim after offensive rebounds, something he continued to do Friday, scoring six points off of New Orleans misses. The rookie's relentless attack sparked a crowd that cheered feverishly every time he scored. His final points of the night came on two free throws after fouling Jonas Valunciunas out of the game, and his final exit with 6:23 remaining in the game was met with a standing ovation from a crowd dreaming of the explosive forward's future. The Pelicans' bench finished strong, closing out a 139-111 victory, New Orleans' third straight and its second win over Memphis in less than two weeks. Williamson finished with a career-high 24 points, 6 rebounds and 3 assists in 29 minutes.

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While the win moved New Orleans to 4 games back of eighth in the Western Conference standings, this season is not about the playoffs. Williamson is 19 years old. Ingram is 22 (and is averaging 25 points per game in his first All-Star season). Ball is 22 (and is quietly stuffing stat sheets on a nightly basis). Fellow rookie Jaxon Hayes is also 19 (and is...taking his Rising Stars Challenge snub in stride). Holiday, the unquestioned veteran leader of the team, is 29. For the first time in a long time, long-term success feels possible in New Orleans.

The euphoria felt across the city on draft night eight months ago is realized each time Williamson, the prize of the class, steps on the court. Friday night's viewing was worth the hype -- and the price of admission.