Zion Williamson Wins AP Player of the Year

Duke Blue Devils star Zion Williamson won the AP Player of the Year. The soaring dunks, the open court moves, doing everything he did with a 6-foot-7, 285-pound build, it all was too much for the voters. Williamson won  59 of the 64 votes from AP Top 25 voters before the NCAA Tournament in results released Friday. His teammate RJ Barrett earned two votes as a fellow AP first-team All-American, while Virginia‘s De’Andre Hunter, Michigan State‘s Cassius Winston, and Murray State‘s Ja Morant each earned one vote.

When asking about the attention that comes with being a star, Zion said, “I was comfortable with it because you don’t really have a choice. I think if you try to force it out, then it’s going to bother you. … My mom just told me to look at it as a lot of kids would wish to be in my position, so if it does bother me, I just think about it like that.”

Williamson will likely go pro in the next few months. The 18-year-old averaged 22.6 points and 8.9 rebounds while ranking second nationally by shooting 68%.

30 SPORTS FIGURES WHO DIED IN 2018 – TRIBUTE SLIDESHOW

Prior to being named the AP Top Player, he also won the Atlantic Coast Conference’s player of the year as well rookie of the year. Williamson received 49 votes for the overall award and 47 for the rookie award out of 70.

NBA decision-makers have Williamson slotted as a can’t miss, no. 1 overall pick due to his game-changing ability on top of a team friendly personality. While he didn’t walk away with a national title, Williamson more than proved his skills.

Here’s some of the best tweets about Zion and award season:

Article by Bill Piersa