Williamson was the No. 1 pick of the New Orleans Pelicans — a surprise to nobody who watched basketball this past season. But afterward he couldn’t hide his emotions, even though he along with everyone else knew what would happen Thursday night.
“Because I love the game of basketball,” he said. “You can hear people say things like, `Oh, that it was likely I was going to go No. 1.’ But I guess you don’t know until you actually go through it. Hearing my name called and I was able to make it on stage without a tear, shake the commissioner’s hand, but in the interview my mom was standing beside me, and my emotions just took over.”
There are tears of joy in New Orleans, too, because the Duke powerhouse is considered the most prospective player in years. At 6’7″, 285 pounds, Williamson compiled a career-long list of highlights into one season, making him the third freshman to be noted by the Associated Press for the achievement.