Zion Williamson Was 'Historically Efficient' as a Rookie, Says Pelicans' Griffin

Zion Williamson might have been limited to 24 games as a rookie, but that's not stopping New Orleans Pelicans executive vice president of basketball operations David Griffin from hyping up what the 2019 No. 1 overall pick achieved. 

Griffin explained Monday how "it's hard to identify the things he needs to make the most improvement on other than his availability," per ESPN's Andrew Lopez:

"Everything he did, he did at a historically efficient level. And frankly, I would tell you it's the things he enjoyed the least on a basketball court. And he was historically good at it. That's not a function of his improvement, that's more of a function of his opportunity to stay on the floor and be used in those interchangeable ways."

Williamson didn't make his NBA debut until Jan. 22 because of a torn right meniscus. He immediately made his presence felt, finishing with 22 points and seven rebounds in a little more than 18 minutes on the floor against the San Antonio Spurs.

The former Duke star averaged 22.5 points, 6.3 rebounds and 0.4 blocks while shooting 58.3 percent from the field. He was also 6-of-14 on three-pointers.

To Griffin's point, Williamson was eighth all-time in effective field-goal percentage (59.2) among rookies with at least 300 shot attempts, per Basketball Reference. He's also one of 24 players to average at least 20 points, six rebounds and two assists in their first year—a list that includes Luka Doncic, Carmelo Anthony, Tim Duncan, David Robinson, Larry Bird, Michael Jordan, Wilt Chamberlain and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

Lopez also pointed to ESPN Stats & Information data showing that Williamson's 0.808 points per minute were the second-highest of the shot-clock era.

Yet Griffin hit on what will be the biggest question mark around Williamson for the foreseeable future.

There simply aren't too many examples of a 6'6", 284-lb. forward thriving in the NBA, at least to the extent the Pelicans are hoping from their franchise cornerstone. New Orleans is going so far as to work with Williamson to alter how he walks and runs so as to ease the pressure on his knees.

Perhaps this won't be an issue in the years ahead. There was once a time when it looked like Stephen Curry's ankles would hinder his long-term prospects in the NBA.

As long as the Pelicans can keep Williamson on the court, he already showed how devastating he can be.