Duke basketball: Zion Williamson honors Coach K at Summer League

Zion Williamson paid homage to his former Duke basketball head coach. 

The relationship between Zion Williamson and the Duke basketball program remains very strong as the former No. 1 overall pick was showing love to his former team in Las Vegas.

Williamson took a direct flight from France, where he spent a week representing Jordan Brand with Luca Doncic, to Nevada to get a look at the New Orleans Pelicans Summer League squad on Wednesday night.

The South Carolina native entered the Thomas & Mack center rocking a Mike Krzyzewski t-shirt and Duke bucket hat as he sat on the sidelines for the Pelicans victory over the Washington Wizards.

The shirt honors Krzyzewski, who retired from his head coach duties in April, and his accomplishments in Durham which include five National Championships and 1,202 career victories between Army and Duke.

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Zion Williamson recently agreed to a five-year, $193 million contract extension with the Pelicans that could earn him up to $231 million if he reaches specific benchmarks and milestones throughout the deal.

Williamson did not play in a single game, regular season or postseason, last year due to a broken foot and multiple setbacks from the injury, but has been fully cleared to return to basketball activities and is expected to play a major role in the continued progression of the New Orleans organization.

Duke basketball has major meeting in Las Vegas

Unfortunately for Zion Williamson is that he arrived in Las Vegas about two days short of a massive gathering of former Duke basketball players for a luxury dinner.

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The team’s social media accounts posted all former Blue Devils in Vegas gathering for dinner that is truly an impressive feat for the program.

Neither Mike Krzyzewski nor Jon Scheyer was in attendance at the dinner but former Duke players, and current assistant coaches, Chris Carrawell and Amile Jefferson were spotted as were four of the five 2022 draft picks that the program produced.

Trevor Keels was the only drafted player not in attendance as he was in the midst of a game with the New York Knicks.