Pelicans’ Zion Williamson Joins LeBron James in a Unique Christmas Day Record

It is quite unlikely for a newcomer in the league to match any record set by the likes of LeBron James. The Akron Hammer has never had one season that could put a tint of blemish on his legacy.

So for a youngster to match any of his records is outright phenomenal. Well, Pelicans’ Zion Williamson has done just that.

As a 20-something, LeBron was already a former Rookie of the Year. Plus, he was approaching his career-best season in terms of the points average.

He arguably enjoyed such a long prime that several other NBA players do not enjoy a career that long. However, Zion is seemingly walking the same path.

Zion Williamson joined LeBron James in a unique league record

On the auspicious eve of Christmas, Zanos scored a 32-point double-double, with 14 rebounds to his name. With this performance, he became the second player to Bron who scored 30+ on 25th December. 

The Akron Hammer did the same in his rookie year itself. On that day, young Bron scored 34 points, 2 boards, 6 assists, 2 steals, and 1 block in his over 47 minutes of play.

Interestingly, just like Zion, even LeBron had seen his performance go in vain as they had lost 101-113 to the Orlando Magic. 

The Pelicans failed to leverage Zion’s form while LBJ set another record

Even before the X-Mas day game this year, Bron was super excited to play against the Mavs. Well, that excitement worked as his step-back shot over Luka Doncic from downtown helped him set another record.

He crossed legend Oscar Robertson (377 points in 12 games) to become the player with the 2nd highest total points on Christmas eve.

Bron (383 points in 15 games) is now second only to Kobe Bryant (395 points in 16 games). Perhaps he will be the #1 by the end of 2021.

The Pelicans surprisingly lost to the Miami Heat in a game that had all the important ingredients working for them. One, their star duo in Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram combined for 60 points. Two, the Heat had their man, Jimmy Butler, playing for a restricted 16 minutes.

For the Pelicans, JJ Redick failed to perform, as did their remaining starting line-up with Lonzo Ball, Eric Bledsoe, and Steven Adams adding just 17 points.

On the other hand, Heat’s catch-and-shoot specialist, Duncan Robinson, took the Pelicans by storm with his three-pointers. The 26-YO attempted a crazy 13 shots and converted 7 of those from behind the arc. 

This must have hampered Zion’s celebration-worthy performance as well as his Christmas vibes. Now, the Pelicans are 1-1, but if Zion continues this way, they can soon turn the tables on their dreaded record.