The top five freshman seasons in Duke basketball history

Best seasons by a Duke basketball freshman: No. 1 Zion Williamson

Everyone around the world, basketball enthusiasts and sports fans alike, remembers one of the most iconic freshmen in the history of college basketball: Zion Williamson.

His abilities are uncommon, even among those who play in the NBA today. He was compared to players like LeBron James for his unprecedented athleticism and skill in the game of basketball. Every play made on the court involving Williamson was an unbelievable sight, as the nation became astonished by his game all at once.

Williamson lived up to the hype as the nation’s No. 2-ranked recruit, per ESPN. He averaged 22.6 points and 8.9 rebounds over 33 games, finishing as ACC co-leader in scoring alongside teammate RJ Barrett. His performance over the season led him to finish top five in the conference in seven major statistical categories.

As expected, and amazingly so, Zion finished the season as the 21st player since 1985 to sweep the six major National Player of the Year awards, and he was just the fourth Blue Devil to do so. He also became the only freshman, besides Kevin Durant in 2007, to be the consensus National Player of the Year.

Not only was Williamson’s college career unprecedented in the game of basketball, but he was also influential in aspects regarding pop culture.

Everyone remembers the tragic game where Williamson blew out his shoe, depriving the world of his game for several weeks. The day following the incident, Nike’s stock value plummeted, equating to an estimated loss of $1.1 billion. Throughout the following weeks, turmoil was raised throughout the NCAA on account it didn’t allow student-athletes to be paid.

Williamson became the face of the effort, as he was one of the most shared, watched, and talked about players the college basketball world had ever seen.

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This resulted in the NCAA ultimately deciding to move forward on allowing players to profit off their name, image, and likeness, a process still being worked out to this day.

Duke basketball fans were collectively sad to see Williamson leave Durham — selfishly, Cameron Crazies wanted the privilege of experiencing him tear up Cameron Indoor Stadium his sophomore season.

However, as expected, Zion Williamson declared for the 2019 NBA Draft and was selected first overall by the New Orleans Pelicans.

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