Duke Basketball: Zion Williamson wins AP Player of the Year in landslide

The Duke Basketball national superstar Zion Williamson won the Associated Press National Player of the Year in a landslide victory.

Winning the Associated Press Player of the Year Award was nearly unanimous for the sensational Duke freshman out of Spartanburg, South Carolina.

To be exact, it was five votes short of being unanimous for Zion Williamson.

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Williamson received 59 of a possible 64 votes by the Associated Press in its Player of the Year Award voting.

The AP Player of the Year Award is just another honor for Zion Williamson as the freshman was named as the ACC Freshman and Player of the Year, the National Association of Basketball Coaches Freshman and Player of the Year, and a consensus First Team All-American, just to name a few of his honors this season.

While being the favorite to win the Wooden Award, Williamson is also the favorite to win the Oscar Robertson Award that will be award in Minnesota later this evening.

This season Zion Williamson averaged 22.6 points, 8.9 rebounds, 2.1 assists, 2.1 steals, and 1.8 blocks per game and he shot 68.0% from the field and 33.8% from 3-point range.

Williamson’s teammate R.J. Barrett was the only other player to receive more than one vote as the Canadian freshman picked up two votes.

Virginia’s De’Andre Hunter, Michigan State’s Cassius Winston, and Murray State’s Ja Morant were the only other players to receive votes.

Duke extended its lead on UCLA for the most players ever awarded as the AP Player of the Year as the Blue Devils have seven winners and the Bruins have five.

Zion Williamson also is the first member of the Blue Devils program to win the award since J.J. Redick in 2006.

Although there has been no announcement yet, the overwhelming assumption is that Zion Williamson will leave Duke after one season and declare for the NBA Draft and be the No. 1 overall selection on June 20, no matter which team wins the NBA Draft Lottery.

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