Lakers' LeBron James Hypes Pelicans' Zion Williamson: 'Almost Impossible to Stop Him'

After the Los Angeles Lakers season finale against the New Orleans Pelicans, LeBron James had high praise for Zion Williamson, per ESPN's Dave McMenamin.

"He's a beast," James said. "I mean, it's almost impossible to stop him so I just tried to keep a body on him and just tried to keep it tough on him. He's a great player, man."

In Los Angeles' 124-108 win over the Pelicans on Sunday, Williamson had 12 points, eight rebounds and eight assists and James had 28 points, 17 assists and 11 rebounds.

The two will face off again on Tuesday in the play-in tournament.

While Williamson didn't post his best performance on Sunday, the young star has had an outstanding season, averaging 23 points, 5.8 rebounds and five assists per game. He also managed to stay healthy after struggling with injuries last year.

Now Williamson will look to lead New Orleans to the playoffs with a win over the Lakers on Tuesday. If the Pelicans can't get it done on Tuesday, they will still have a chance to earn the No. 8 seed against either the Golden State Warriors or Sacramento Kings.

Since Williamson entered the league in 2019, the Pelicans have reached the playoffs just once in 2022, but he'll be looking for a second appearance this year.

But New Orleans has a tough matchup against the Lakers to get through first. Los Angeles is looking for similar success to the 2023 play-in tournament when it advanced to the playoffs and made it all the way to the Western Conference.

The Lakers and Pelicans will tip off at 7:30 p.m. ET on TNT on Tuesday.