11:42 PM ET
Andrew LopezESPN
NEW ORLEANS -- Zion Williamson began his 100th vocation NBA crippled successful fitting style, finishing a lob from Jose Alvarado for his archetypal bucket Monday night.
Williamson finished it with 23 points, 8 rebounds and a career-high-tying 8 assists and 3 blocks arsenic the New Orleans Pelicans held disconnected the Oklahoma City Thunder, 105-101.
Williamson's milestone crippled has been a agelong clip coming -- it has been 1,042 days since his debut connected Jan. 21, 2020, arsenic injuries person derailed overmuch of his vocation truthful far, including missing the full 2021-22 play with a ft injury.
But Williamson said that clip distant from the tribunal has made him a amended person.
"It's been a agelong journey," Williamson said aft Monday's win. "Would I person liked the travel to person gone similar that? Absolutely not. I privation I could person played each game.
"But astatine the extremity of the day, I'm inactive grateful that I went done that. Because it helped maine recognize a batch mentally, spiritually and conscionable increasing arsenic a man.
"So for maine to yet deed a 100 games ... Think astir it, I'm connected 3 coaches. This is the archetypal twelvemonth wherever the locker country has looked somewhat the aforesaid players-wise. The happening I tin instrumentality distant from that is it's conscionable bully to benignant of person conscionable dependable radical astir maine now."
With 100 games yet nether his belt, here's however the opening of Williamson's vocation has stacked up against the all-time greats. Hint: Zion has immoderate historically elite company.
Williamson is averaging 25.2 points connected 60% shooting for his career. No subordinate to debut successful the shot-clock epoch has ever averaged those numbers done his archetypal 100 vocation games. In fact, the lone players with those numbers implicit any 100-game span successful the shot-clock epoch are Charles Barkley, Shaquille O'Neal, Kevin McHale and Wilt Chamberlain.
Williamson (2,524) is the 12th subordinate successful NBA past with 2,500 points successful his archetypal 100 vocation games. He's the archetypal subordinate since Michael Jordan to execute the feat. The others to propulsion it off: Chamberlain, Walt Bellamy, Oscar Robertson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, George Mikan, Rick Barry, Elvin Hayes, Elgin Baylor, David Thompson and Billy Knight. (Thompson and Knight played successful the ABA anterior to their NBA debuts.) All players but for Knight are successful the Hall of Fame.
Williamson has 42 vocation games with 20 points successful the restricted area. No different subordinate to debut implicit the past 25 seasons has done it 10 times done their archetypal 100 vocation games.
Williamson has scored 1,898 vocation overgarment points. Over the past 25 seasons, the lone subordinate to people that galore successful the overgarment implicit immoderate 100-game span is O'Neal.
Williamson has 54 vocation games with 25 points and 50% shooting, tied with Abdul-Jabbar for the second-most by immoderate subordinate done his archetypal 100 vocation games successful the shot-clock era; lone Bellamy has much (57).
Williamson has 98 games with astatine slightest 10 points. Among players to debut successful the past 25 seasons, lone Joel Embiid (98) and Blake Griffin (99) tin lucifer Zion.
Williamson scored astatine slightest 20 points successful 83 of his archetypal 100 games. That's the astir of immoderate subordinate done their archetypal 100 games since Jordan (85).
ESPN Stats & Information's Matt Williams contributed to this story.
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